Trump’s role in TikTok talks: Dealmaker in chief

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. President Trump has been a real-estate tycoon and reality-TV star. Now he’s playing a new role as he oversees TikTok’s fate: investment banker.

In public and behind the scenes, Trump has discussed possible deals to Americanize control of the Chinese-controlled app he once tried to ban, promoting it as a prize asset for tech titans to bid over, a potential target for a planned American sovereign-wealth fund, and a valuable chip in trade negotiations with Beijing. “GREAT INTEREST IN TIKTOK! Would be wonderful for China, and all concerned," he posted recently on Truth Social. Several companies have privately expressed interest in participating in a deal for TikTok or its American operations, including Oracle, Amazon and Microsoft, according to people familiar with the matter.

TikTok and its backers, meanwhile, are pushing for solutions that might forego a sale in favor of reviving a plan the company says would wall off American users’ data. Last week, TikTok Chief Executive Shou Chew met with senior White House officials and offered a proposal that envisioned a joint venture with U.S. investors.

That new venture would be headquartered in the U.S. and oversee data security, according to a person familiar with the proposal. Management would be U.S.-based and a board of directors would be a majority U.S.

Whether the investors include the U.S. government itself is an open question. Trump on Monday ordered the creation of a sovereign-wealth fund and suggested it could be used to acquire TikTok—something many observers see as far-fetched.