Potential TikTok buyers are lining up as President Trump and the Chinese government show heightened interest in striking a deal to sell the popular video-sharing platform in the face of a U.S.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he is open to Elon Musk buying TikTok, and floated a proposal that the United States jointly own half the company. “I would be, if he wanted to buy it, yes,” Trump told reporters at a White House event announcing a new AI infrastructure private sector partnership with tech leaders,

"I have been against a TikTok ban for a long time, because it goes against freedom of speech. That said, the current situation where TikTok is allowed to operate in America, but X

Smartphone users are selling their devices for thousands of dollars for having installed the TikTok app prior to the Jan. 19 ban. All apps owned by ByteDance, which include TikTok and CapCut, were removed from app stores in the United States after a ban went into effect with the approval of the Supreme Court.

TikTok could still not be downloaded from the Apple and Google app stores in the U.S, even after President Trump's executive order.

Within hours of his inauguration, President Donald Trump issued an executive order suspending the enforcement of a TikTok ban that had taken effect the previous day. The move tossed a lifeline to TikTok -- and its 170 million users in the United States.

TikTok, one of the most popular social media platforms in the United States, has a little more than three months to reach a deal divesting it of Chinese ownership before it goes dark. The app boasts roughly 170 million monthly active users across the country but faces extinction by May if it fails to sell