Microsoft, which declined to comment on the president’s remarks, had discussed buying TikTok in 2020, when Trump tried to force a sale of the app in his first term.

Per The Guardian, when a reporter aboard Air Force One on Monday asked if Microsoft was in talks to buy TikTok, Trump said, "I would say yes," adding that there is "a lot of interest in TikTok. There’s great interest in TikTok." BBC News reported that Trump said he'd like to see a "bidding war" over the sale.