Trump Wants 50% Ownership of TikTok for the United States

President-elect Donald Trump told his supporters on Sunday that he wants the TikTok app, owned by a Chinese company, to be at least 50% owned by American investors.

On the eve of his inauguration, Trump stated at a rally in Washington that he would allow the app to continue operating in the United States, "but the United States must own 50% of TikTok."

Trump added, "TikTok is worth nothing; it is zero without obtaining approval to operate." He continued, "If approval is granted, they could become valued at a trillion dollars; they would have enormous value."

Trump explained, "I am granting approval on behalf of the United States, so they can have a partner — the United States. They will have plenty of offers, and we will initiate what we call a joint venture."

The popular app was inaccessible to users in the United States for about 12 hours on Sunday, as a new U.S. law was set to take effect. The law required TikTok to either be sold by its current Chinese owners, ByteDance, or face a ban in the country.

The app resumed operations after Trump, who is set to take office today, announced that he would issue an executive order to reactivate the platform in the United States.

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