If Microsoft acquires TikTok, the US government should get a cut of the sale, according to President Trump.
Trump brought up the unusual demand on Monday when recounting his phone call with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella about the company’s bid to buy TikTok.
“I said a very substantial portion of that price is going to have to come into the Treasury of the United States. Because we’re making it possible for this deal to happen,” Trump said Monday morning after signing an unrelated executive order. “Right now they don’t have any rights, unless we give it to them.”
Trump described the transaction as a “landlord-tenant” relationship, whereby Microsoft will have to pay for the lease to own TikTok. “Without a lease, the tenant has nothing. So they pay what is called ‘key money’ or they pay something,” Trump added. “But the United States should be reimbursed, or should be paid a substantial amount of money because without the United States they don’t have anything.”
China’s ByteDance, which owns TikTok, has been looking to sell the popular video-sharing app because Trump has threatened to ban the product in the US. How the White House might enforce such a ban is unclear. But according to The New York Times, the US government has already ordered the Chinese company to divest the Musical.ly property it acquired in 2018, which helped TikTok turn into the social media powerhouse it is today.
Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Over the weekend, it said in a statement that it did “not intend to provide further updates until there is a definitive outcome to our discussions” with TikTok.
Trump said he’s giving Microsoft until Sept. 15 to complete the acquisition talks, otherwise the US will ban the app. “Maybe a deal is going to be made [because] it’s a great asset,” he said. “But it’s not a great asset in the United States unless they have the approval of the United States.”
In a Monday afternoon press conference, Trump added: “Whether it’s Microsoft, or somebody else, the Chinese, what the price is, the United States should get a very large percentage of that price because we’re making it possible.”
