Second-time leader of the free world Donald J. Trump is reportedly open to the idea of Elon Musk or Oracle head honcho Larry Ellison, among others, buying TikTok.
But there's a catch. In return for oiling the wheels of the deal, Trump thinks the US government should get half of TikTok. Bloomberg reports that President Trump indicated his approval for Musk or Ellison to snap up TikTok at a White House event yesterday. «What I’m thinking about saying to somebody is buy it and give half to the United States of America, half, and we’ll give you the permit, and they’ll have a great partner,” Trump said.
The immediate point is to allow TikTok to comply with a recent Supreme Court ruling upholding a earlier lower court decision to uphold a law effectively banning TikTok from the US, essentially due to security concerns springing from its Chinese ownership.
Selling TikTok to a US person, persons or entity would solve that problem, obviously. Signing half of TikTok over to the US government in the process is a typically Trumpian spin on that solution.
Never does the President turn down an opportunity for a bit of grift. “You have an asset that has no value or has a trillion-dollar value,” Trump said. “It all depends on whether or not the United States gives the permit.” The implication there is that the US government deserves a cut because in allowing TikTok to operate, it gives the social media app value.