US Prez Trump asks for a chunk of TikTok US Sale; calls it a hot brand

Microsoft and TikTok-US are in a negotiation deal over the country's growing security reviews. The deal was possible as the US fears user data transfer to the Chinese Communist Government. To stop that from happening, TikTok has to close this deal within 45 days (before September 15). In a new turn of events, while the president endorsed the deal between Microsoft and ByteDance over TikTok, he also said that he expects a chunk of the sale price to wind up in the accounts of the American government.

What exactly did President Trump say?

Here's an excerpt from the conversation.

"I did say that if you buy it, whatever the price is that goes to whoever owns it because I guess it's China essentially. I said a very substantial portion of that price is going to have to come into the Treasury of the United States because we're making it possible for this deal to happen."

During the press talk, about the deal, he said, "We had a great conversation. He (Satya Nadella) called me, to see how I felt about it. And I said look, it can’t be controlled, for security reasons, by China. Too big, too invasive. And it can’t be. And here’s the deal. I don’t mind if, whether it’s Microsoft or somebody else — a big company, a secure company, a very American company — buy it."

He also stated ti buy it whole rather than 30% of the company as it is a "hot brand". Trump later defended his push for a cut. He added that "nobody else would be thinking about (it) but me, but that's the way I think."

Nicholas Klein, a lawyer at DLA Piper, told ET, "Generally the government doesn't have the authority to take a cut of a private deal." So it very unclear on how the U.S. government would receive part of the purchase price.