The slow drip of information around the proposed American takeover of TikTok continues, though each new “reveal” seems to raise as many questions as it answers. The latest twist comes courtesy of Donald Trump, who casually suggested that Rupert Murdoch and his son, Lachlan, may be poised to join the consortium of U.S. investors aiming to wrest control of the app from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance.
The comment came during an appearance on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, where Trump floated the Murdochs’ names in the most Trumpian way possible—vague, hedged, but headline-worthy nonetheless. “A man named Lachlan is involved,” he said, before clarifying that he meant Lachlan Murdoch, heir to the Murdoch media empire. Trump added that both Lachlan and Rupert are “probably gonna be in the group,” later repeating, “I think they’re going to be in the group.” In other words, it’s hardly a signed contract, but enough to keep the rumor mill churning.
The Murdochs join a list of potential heavy hitters that Trump has repeatedly dangled in connection with the deal. That roster includes Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, a steadfast Trump ally and one of the earliest names linked to an “Americanized” TikTok, as well as Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell, who has been warming publicly to Trump’s policies. Ellison, notably, already wields outsized influence in conservative media circles, with Oracle family investments helping reshape Paramount and CBS into increasingly Trump-friendly platforms.
Notably absent from Trump’s mention were Marc Andreessen and his venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, or private equity giant Silver Lake—both of which the Wall Street Journal previously reported as likely participants. Instead, Trump vaguely assured that there were “other really great people, very prominent people” also in the mix.
The possibility of Murdoch involvement is particularly intriguing given the complicated relationship between Trump and Rupert Murdoch. On the one hand, Murdoch’s media properties—especially Fox News—played a pivotal role in Trump’s rise to power. On the other, their relationship has soured in recent years, with the Wall Street Journal (a Murdoch property) spearheading reporting into Trump’s alleged ties to Jeffrey Epstein. That tension even sparked a lawsuit between Trump and the Murdoch-owned Journal, though the two men were spotted traveling together in the UK not long ago, a reminder that in politics and media, yesterday’s enemies can quickly become today’s business partners.
Strategically, the move would make sense for Murdoch. His empire depends heavily on an aging Fox News audience, with the median viewer well over 65. TikTok, with its billion-plus global users—most of them under 30—offers an unparalleled entry point to the next generation. For Murdoch, joining the TikTok deal could be less about tech investment and more about rebranding his influence for a digital-native, younger demographic that has largely tuned out cable news.
For Trump, meanwhile, floating Murdoch’s involvement is yet another way to keep the TikTok saga in the headlines while flexing his ability to bring together “big names” for a deal that has been more rumor than reality so far. Whether this potential partnership ever materializes is another question entirely.
But if the Murdochs do join the fray, the TikTok story could shift from being merely about geopolitics and national security to something much broader: the merger of conservative media powerhouses with one of the world’s most influential social platforms. That prospect raises its own set of questions—about content moderation, propaganda pipelines, and just how much political influence could be embedded in TikTok’s algorithm if it were steered by America’s most famous media dynasty.