«appreciate the TikTok approval»
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that negotiators from the U.S. and China had agreed on a “framework” for a deal that would give an American company control of TikTok. And while most people assumed we would hear about the details this week, we’ve arrived at Friday, and it’s still unclear what might be happening with the video-sharing platform.
President Donald Trump held a call with President Xi Jinping of China on Friday to discuss a range of topics. Trump mentioned TikTok twice in a new Truth Social post Friday about the call, but anyone trying to read between the lines on what it means for ownership of the TikTok brand is going to struggle.
“I just completed a very productive call with President Xi of China. We made progress on many very important issues including Trade, Fentanyl, the need to bring the War between Russia and Ukraine to an end, and the approval of the TikTok Deal,” Trump wrote in his typically unusual style.
“I also agreed with President Xi that we would meet at the APEC Summit in South Korea, that I would go to China in the early part of next year, and that President Xi would, likewise, come to the United States at an appropriate time,” Trump continued.
“The call was a very good one, we will be speaking again by phone, appreciate the TikTok approval, and both look forward to meeting at APEC!” Trump wrote.
And that’s it. No proclamation about some U.S.-based company like Oracle taking charge of TikTok. No bragging about how he got a great deal that would’ve been impossible under Biden.
