Trump may give TikTok another reprieve. Will a deal ever get done?

The U.S. government’s effort to force either a ban or divestiture of TikTok has hit another snag, and more delays are on the horizon. After talks between the White House and Chinese authorities stalled, President Donald Trump indicated that he will “probably” extend an executive order that has prevented the divest-or-ban law from taking effect.

Nearly two months after Trump ordered a 75-day delay for the Biden-era law, Axios reported that Chinese officials have yet to negotiate with prospective TikTok buyers in the United States. Suitors are lacking the specifics they need to understand a potential deal, and there’s also confusion about the Trump officials who are in charge of brokering the deal. Vice President J.D. Vance is reportedly taking point rather than ceding control to a member of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

Long story short, the deal that would divest TikTok to a U.S.-led ownership group is nowhere near done, so the President might need to give the negotiating parties an extension on their homework. Trump told a reporter he is likely to delay the start of the divest-or-ban law once again.

“We have a lot of interest in TikTok. China is going to play a role, so hopefully China will approve of the deal,” Trump said. “But they’re going to play a role.”

From the start of Trump’s second term, the Chinese government’s role in the TikTok negotiations has been unclear. Initially, officials in Beijing suggested that they would step aside and let ByteDance broker its own TikTok deal. As Trump escalated his attacks on Chinese trade, the CCP appeared to change its tune on TikTok, suggesting that it might nix a divestiture agreement.

At this point, as Trump scales back some of his promises, it’s natural to speculate whether the President will start singing a different tune on TikTok. He could use the app as a bargaining chip amid broader dealings with China.

At the same time, the tide has clearly turned against the TikTok ban. The app’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew, has made nice with Trump while pleasing Chinese citizens with his defiance of American regulations. TikTok is on track to haul in $30 billion of ad revenue this year as long as it avoids a ban, and it’s developing assets for American small businesses as well. At this point, TikTok users on both sides of the Pacific might as well ask a simple question: “Why can’t we be friends?”