White House listed Tucker Carlson as potential TikTok investor: FT

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Financial Times
7 Jun 2025 15:22

Trump officials eye right-wing media figure Tucker Carlson، as a TikTok investor while negotiating a US takeover of the Chinese app before ByteDance faces a nationwide ban.

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Donald Trump speaks with Tucker Carlson during a Tucker Carlson Live Tour show at Desert Diamond Arena, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Glendiale, Arizona. AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

The White House listed right-wing media figure Tucker Carlson as a potential investor in TikTok earlier this year, as it moved to secure US-based ownership of the Chinese-owned social media platform, the Financial Times reported, citing individuals familiar with the matter.

The initiative was led in part by Senator JD Vance, whom President Donald Trump had tasked with overseeing the TikTok negotiations. Carlson was among several names put forward during discussions, which also included major firms like venture capital group Andreessen Horowitz and private equity giant Blackstone.

Carlson, however, denied any knowledge of the proposal.

“I don’t know anything about that,” he told FT, adding that he had opposed the congressional push to ban TikTok and was “accused of being pro-China, which I’m not.”

The push for new ownership came as ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, faced a looming deadline set by US legislation passed last year. The law required ByteDance to sell its TikTok operations in the US or face a ban.

The original deadline, set for January, was extended twice by Trump, first to April and then to June 19. Trump has said another extension remains possible. He previously told NBC that he had “a little warm spot in my heart for TikTok,” acknowledging its value in reaching younger voters during the 2024 presidential campaign.

JD Vance, Andreessen Horowitz, and Blackstone also tied to talks

According to people involved in the process, the White House was close to finalizing a deal before the April deadline.

Under the terms being discussed, new investors such as Andreessen Horowitz and Blackstone would take a significant stake, approximately half of a newly formed US entity to control TikTok’s American business. Existing large investors, including General Atlantic, Susquehanna, and KKR, would retain around 30%.

Carlson’s exact role in the proposed deal remained unclear, but his inclusion on the list signaled a broader effort to bring Trump-aligned individuals into the platform’s future ownership structure.

Despite progress on the US side, the deal stalled after Beijing withheld approval, particularly after Trump reignited a trade war with China. Without China’s consent, ByteDance cannot legally sell TikTok’s US operations, effectively freezing the proposal.