WASHINGTON

President Donald Trump said Monday that the deadline to sell TikTok or see the app banned in the US is April 5, but "I can extend (it) if I want."

"We have a lot of enthusiasm for TikTok, for buying it. I think TikTok is good," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, adding he was a "great TikTok guy."

Asked whether the negotiations for a TikTok deal are tied to a "bigger tariff deal" with China, Trump said: "No, but it could be."

TikTok's future in the US has been uncertain since last year, after a bipartisan law signed by former President Joe Biden required the app's Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell the platform or face a ban.

The platform challenged the law, but the US Supreme Court upheld it in Biden’s final days in office.

TikTok temporarily went offline before Trump’s inauguration in January but resumed service after he hinted at reconsidering the ban.

Earlier this month, he said he would "probably" extend the deadline for the sale of the social media app.

"We have a lot of interest in TikTok. And China is going to play a role, so hopefully China will approve of the deal. But they are going to play a role,” he said.