Lutnick is referring to the potential deal to sell the majority of TikTok to U.S. investors, which President Trump recently said was all but done, with the buyer being "secured" on the U.S. side. Trump did say at the time that China has to approve such a deal, and now it seems his administration is running out of patience.

Donald Trump vowed to save TikTok before taking office, claiming only he could make a deal to keep the app operational in the US despite national security concerns. But then, he put Vice President JD Vance in charge of the deal,

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick warned Thursday that TikTok will go dark unless China agrees to a deal in which American owners take control of the popular social media app and its algorithm.