Will the Trump administration's forced sale of TikTok leave Generation Z’s favorite video app in the hands of a Trump-loving tech company?tumblr video deliveryman sex
It could very well happen now that Oracle, a business database software company, has enteredtalks to possibly acquire the social video app. President Trump had originally given ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese owner, 45 days to find a potential buyer, but has since extended the deadline until after the U.S. election in November.
Oracle has reportedly approached venture capital firm Sequoia Capital with the intent to partner up and acquire TikTok. The pairing, as many have pointed out, is an odd fit as Oracle is a business-to-business company that doesn’t have any customer-facing products, let alone teen-friendly social media apps.
But what makes the potential acquisition more interesting is the fact that Oracle is run by huge supporters of Donald Trump.
Oracle cofounder and CTO Larry Ellison has proclaimedhis support for the president, who is up for re-election in November. Ellison, a Republican mega-donor who also happens to be the fifth richest personin the world, even hosted a fundraiserfor Trump’s 2020 campaign earlier this year. (Note: Elon Musk recently became the fourth richest person, according to Bloomberg, so Ellison may have been knocked down a peg since the Forbeslist was last updated.)
"I don't think he's the devil,” Ellison said in an interview with Forbesback in April. “I support him and want him to do well."
According to the New York Times, Ellison was one of the earliest people to recommend the drug hydroxychloroquine to Trump as a possible treatment for coronavirus. The FDA has since warned of its potentially dangerous side effects as a treatment for COVID-19.
It’s not just Ellison, either. At least one other high-level executive at Oracle has lent their support to Trump: CEO Safra Catz.
Catz joinedTrump’s transition team in 2016 while still retaining her role as CEO within the company. The two have maintaineda close relationship ever since. At a 2018 dinner with the president, Catz complained to Trump about Amazon being favored to win a lucrative Pentagon contract. Amazon lost the bid and has since filed a lawsuitagainst the Pentagon, alleging Trump’s bias against the company influenced the process.
Earlier this month, Trump signedan executive order banning TikTok from the U.S. unless the app severs tieswith its Chinese parent company. Since then, companies like Microsoftand Twitterhave shown interest in acquiring the viral video app. But, how would it look if TikTok sold to a company run by Trump supporters, in a sale forced by Trump in the first place?
While Trump’s order to ban TikTok officially stems from cybersecurity concerns with China’s government, TikTok fans believe there’s more to it. The app's users ran a successful social media campaign to interfere with attendance at the president’s Tulsa rallyback in June. Shortly after, the Trump campaign started running negative social media ads againstTikTok.
Would that same TikTok that allowed its users a space to freely express their disdain for the president still exist if it was run by high-profile supporters of Trump?
Topics TikTok Donald Trump Politics