Donald Trump engaged in a lengthy phone call with China’s President Xi Jinping on Friday to address the controversial TikTok deal. Along the way, he teased out the prospect of high-profile billionaires playing a role in structuring the plan. Among them are media mogul Rupert Murdoch and tech entrepreneur Michael Dell, two of the many founders who want Uncle Sam to seize the widely-used social media platform.
In an wide-ranging interview aired with Fox News Trump over the weekend, Trump made clear just how critical Rupert Murdoch remains. For the record, he blamed Lachlan Murdoch, who owns Fox News and News Corp. He characterized them as more like members of a collaborative consortium of joint investors in the deal. Trump named one other key player in this deal—Oracle’s founder and CEO Larry Ellison.
American officials have sounded alarms about TikTok’s algorithm, which they say is vulnerable to interference from Chinese officials. This inescapable reality has sent up red flags. It addresses the concern that content on the platform could be manipulated in ways that are not publicly known.
“American patriots” like the ones listed above will be essential to winning Trump’s negotiation, he said. He seemed genuinely optimistic about their abilities, saying, “I really think they’re going to do a great job.”
The deadline for U.S. and Chinese officials to finalize the deal has been moved to December 16. Now Oracle will be given complete control to manage TikTok’s data and security. With this step, American interests are better protected. On top of that, Americans will fill six of the seven proposed seats on TikTok’s new board.
Trump’s relationship with Murdoch is much more complex. In July, he sued Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal for libel after they published stories linking him to convicted financier Jeffrey Epstein. In fact, Trump conceded that he was biased against TikTok. He understood that the platform was beneficial to him with respect to reaching younger voters.
Those fast-moving negotiations may soon decide the fate of all of TikTok’s operations here in the U.S. Against this background, Trump was driven by slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s call to use TikTok for political mobilization.
According to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, Oracle was a crucial part of this deal. She urged decision makers to keep American control over TikTok as negotiations continue.
“I think they’re going to be in the group. A couple of others. Really great people, very prominent people,” – Donald Trump
“And they’re also American patriots, you know, they love this country. I think they’re going to do a really good job.” – Donald Trump
