WH Staffers Struggle To Justify Trump's Demand For 'Key Money' In TikTok Deal
WH Staffers Struggle To Justify Trump's Demand For 'Key Money' In TikTok Deal

The Trump administration was at a loss on Tuesday over the president's suggestion to shake down Microsoft in its proposed purchase of Chinese app TikTok.

According to Gizmodo, the Trump administration has threatened to ban TikTok in the US, possibly by putting it on a Commerce Department blacklist.

The threat is based on largely theoretical concerns that Beijing-based owner ByteDance could use it to spy on tens of millions of users.

One way around a ban would be for ByteDance to sell off the app to a US company such as Microsoft, for tens of billions of dollars.

On Monday, Trump told reporters that he supported such a deal, provided Microsoft greased the wheels by giving a percentage of the price to the US Treasury.

He compared such a payment to 'key money,' which in New York real estate terms means a bribe.

Both White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow and press secretary White House Kayleigh McEnany were unable to explain the apparent extortion demand.

There’s no specific blueprint here.

Larry Kudlow, White House Economic Adviser Interview with Fox Business News.