Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan are expected to be part of a group of investors trying to buy TikTok in the US, President Donald Trump says.
In a Fox News interview that aired on Sunday, Trump said the men would “probably” be involved in a proposed deal to keep TikTok operating in the US. He also said Oracle chairman Larry Ellison and Dell founder Michael Dell would likely be involved.
“I think they’re going to do a really good job,” Trump said, describing the men as “American patriots”.
The president, who called his Chinese counterpart earlier this week, said the US and China were making progress on a deal that would see the social media platform’s American operations sold to US investors.
The sale is required because of a law passed by Congress in April 2024 that would ban the app unless its Chinese parent company ByteDance sells its US arm.
That law was proposed over fears that Beijing could access the personal data of TikTok’s 170m American users. Its enforcement is on hold pending a deal.
When asked about who was involved in the proposed TikTok deal, Trump told Fox’s The Sunday Briefing that “they’re very well-known people” who would raise a “tremendous amount” of money.
“Larry Ellison is one of them. He’s involved. This great guy, Michael Dell is involved. I hate to tell you this, but a man named Lachlan is involved. Do you know who Lachlan is?” he said. “And Rupert is probably going to be in the group.”
Lachlan Murdoch recently took over Fox Corp and News Corp, the family’s media empire, bringing a lengthy succession battle with his siblings to a close. Rupert Murdoch, 94, is chairman emeritus of News Corp.
After Trump’s comments on Sunday, US media reports suggested the Murdoch’s would not be investing in a personal capacity but instead through Fox Corp.
Their media empire includes the Wall Street Journal and Fox News, and they are known for their conservative views and right-leaning media outlets. But they have also occasionally drawn the ire of Trump, who is currently suing the Wall Street Journal for defamation over a report alleging he signed Jeffrey Epstein’s birthday book.
The White House has raised expectations that a deal is on the verge of completion amid political pressure to take the social media app’s US operations out of the hands of its Chinese owners ByteDance.
On Saturday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said a deal could be signed “in the coming days”.
Leavitt, who was also speaking to Fox, said data and privacy for the app in the US would be led by Oracle and “the algorithm will also be controlled by America as well”.
The proposed TikTok deal raises the prospect of the Murdochs and the Ellisons, now two of the country’s most powerful families in US media, gaining significant influence over one of America’s most popular social media apps.
China has not confirmed whether a deal has been agreed.
China’s official state news agency Xinhua’s account of Trump’s conversation with Xi reported the Chinese premier as as saying that Beijing “welcomes negotiations”.
On Saturday, China’s Commerce Ministry said in a statement: “China’s position on TikTok is clear: The Chinese government respects the wishes of the enterprise, and welcomes it to carry out commercial negotiations in accordance with market rules to reach a solution compliant with China’s laws and regulations, and strikes a balance of interests.”
ByteDance has not yet commented on Trump’s latest remarks.
By BBC News
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