WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said on Sunday that business leaders Lachlan Murdoch, Larry Ellison and Michael Dell would be involved as US investors in a proposed deal to keep TikTok operating in the United States.
Trump has said the US and China have made progress on a deal requiring TikTok's American assets to be transferred to US owners from China's ByteDance.
Murdoch, the CEO of Fox Corp, recently cemented long-term control of his family's media empire that includes Fox News and the Wall Street Journal after settling a years-long legal battle with his siblings. The family patriarch, 94-year-old Rupert Murdoch, may also be involved in the deal, Trump said.
Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle and a major Republican donor, has long been linked to a potential TikTok deal. Dell is the CEO of Dell Technologies.
Trump praised the group in an interview with Fox News' "The Sunday Briefing" program, calling them prominent people and "American patriots."
"I think they're going to do a really good job," Trump said, crediting TikTok with helping build his support among young voters in the 2024 presidential election.
The Trump administration has declined to enforce a US law enacted during the Biden administration requiring TikTok's divestiture over fears that its US user data could be accessed by the Chinese government. Trump has included negotiations over the popular social media app, which counts 170 million US users, as part of wide-ranging economic talks with China.