Donald Trump reveals who he'd 'like' to buy TikTok amid Elon Musk rumours

Following a short-lived TikTok ban in the US, Donald Trump has lifted the lid on who he'd like to purchase the popular video app – and one of the names on his list is someone who probably doesn't need much introduction: Elon Musk.

TikTok cut out on Sunday (19 January) following a federal ban by the Supreme Court which required parent company ByteDance to sell its US version of the platform due to national security concerns over TikTok's links to China – despite TikTok's repeated denials that it shares information with the country.

That said, one of Trump's first moves as president was to delay the ban by 75 days.

On Tuesday, the US president told reporters he had met with the owners of TikTok, adding: "So, what I am thinking about saying to somebody is 'buy it and give half to the United States of America.'"

When asked by the press whether he'd be up for his buddy Musk buying TikTok, he responded: "I would be, if he wanted to buy it."

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He also expressed he'd like Larry Ellison, the co-founder of software giant Oracle, to be a potential buyer: "I have the right to make a deal, the deal I'm thinking about, Larry let's negotiate in front of the media," he said.

Elsewhere, MrBeast also made his interest known in his latest TikTok clip: "TikTok I'm on a private jet right now, about to put in my official offer for this platform. I might become your guys' new CEO, I'm super excited," he told fans.

It comes after tech experts and advocates united to launch a campaign to keep Bluesky – the X/Twitter rival created by Twitter's co-founder Jack Dorsey – a 'billionaire free zone' following Musk's $44 billion Twitter takeover.

"We can no longer let billionaires control our digital public square," the campaign's website states. "Free Our Feeds will build a new, independent foundation to help make that happen."

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