According to people familiar with the matter, the White House put Tucker Carlson on Tiktok's list of potential investors, as it found buyers for the app earlier this year.
JD Vance, who chose to oversee the Tiktok deal, advocated Carlson, said. Other potential investors on the list include venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and private equity giant Blackstone.
The discussion was because the government asked Tiktok to reach an agreement before the April 5 deadline so that its Chinese owners could sell the app or face its ban in the U.S.
The ban was legislated by the U.S. Congress last year. Trump has extended the deadline twice, which is from January to April, and then from April 19, and said he can postpone it again.
The role the White House proposed for Carlson in the deal to acquire the app is unclear. But the inclusion of right-wing media stars on the list shows that the Trump administration remains eager to preserve Tiktok in the United States and has the potential to make the president's allies owned.
Carlson told the Financial Times last month that he was unaware of himself on the White House’s list of potential Tiktok investors.
“I know nothing about it,” Carlson told the UK Bank. “As far as I know, I read that the Tiktok transaction was put on hold due to the trade war because of the tariffs.”
“I can say that,” he added: “I am totally opposed and totally opposed to Congress’ banning social media apps because they don’t like their stuff…I am against banning Tiktok and being accused of being Pro-China, but I am not.
A spokesperson for the vice president declined to comment. Carlson did not respond to further requests for comment, and Tucker Carlson Network CEO Neil Patel said he had “nothing to add”. Tiktok did not respond to a request for comment.
The White House is completing a deal that will detach Tiktok from bytedance and create a U.S. company to acquire new investment, diluting stakes in Chinese investors.
Under the terms of the deal, investors including Andreessen Horowitz and Blackstone will own half of Tiktok's U.S. operations, while large existing investors including Atlantic General, Susquehanna and KKR will own about 30% of the new entity.
But Beijing has not blessed the deal after Trump launched a new trade war against China. According to people familiar with the matter, the proposal is still on the ice.
Trump told NBC in May that he “has a warm tiktok attraction in my heart” and that he had contacted young voters in the 2024 election.