Trump pushes for TikTok to be 50% owned by the U.S. government

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US President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday told his supporters that he wants Chinese-owned short-form video app TikTok to be at least 50 per cent owned by US investors.

On the eve of his swearing-in, Mr Trump told a rally in Washington that he would allow the app to continue operating in the US, “but let the United States of America own 50 per cent of TikTok.”

“TikTok is worth nothing, zero without an approval,” to operate, Mr Trump said.

“If you do approve, they’re worth like a trillion dollars, they’re worth some crazy number.

“I’m approving on behalf of the United States, so they’ll have a partner, the United States, and they’ll have a lot of bidders and the United States will do what we call a joint venture,” Mr Trump added.