President Donald Trump signed an executive order Sept. 25 on the long-anticipated deal to keep TikTok operating in the U.S., followed by signing directives on capital punishment in Washington, D.C., and on launching a federal crackdown on domestic terrorism.
Signing the TikTok order from the Oval Office, Trump said the new arrangement would create a U.S.-based entity valued at about $14 billion and emphasized that U.S. investors will control the app’s algorithm to prevent foreign manipulation.
“We don’t want this used as a propaganda tool by any foreign government,” Trump said, adding the deal is “very good for the American people.”
Vice President JD Vance said the plan means Americans can use TikTok “with more confidence than they had in the past because their data is going to be secure, and it’s not going to be used as a propaganda weapon against our fellow citizens.”
In comments during the signing, Trump also credited TikTok with helping him reach younger voters during the 2024 campaign, saying slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk encouraged him to join the platform.
“I used it myself during the campaign, and it was very successful,” Trump said, adding, “Charlie helped me a lot too, and he said to me, ‘You should go on TikTok.’”
He also noted that Chinese President Xi Jinping approved the arrangement after what Trump described as “a very good talk.”
Under the deal, American companies Oracle and Silver Lake, among others, are expected to take a majority stake in TikTok’s new U.S. entity, while China-based parent company ByteDance will retain less than 20%, The Hill reported.
The move follows the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, a bipartisan law signed in April 2024 that requires divestiture of foreign-owned apps deemed national security risks, CatholicVote reported. Under the law, ByteDance was ordered to sell TikTok’s U.S. assets by Jan. 19, 2025, but Trump issued two extensions earlier this year.
Moments later, Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum that directs U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and Attorney General Pam Bondi “to fully enforce Federal capital punishment laws to deter and punish the most heinous crimes in our Nation’s capital,” the memo’s White House Fact Sheet states.
Just before signing, Trump said, “Everybody understand? Death penalty in Washington. You kill somebody, or if you kill a police officer, law enforcement officer, death penalty. Hopefully, there won’t be that.”
.@POTUS signs an order directing the Attorney General and the U.S. Attorney to fully enforce federal capital punishment laws in the nation's capital — ensuring prosecutors seek the death penalty in all appropriate cases in D.C. pic.twitter.com/g29vCnftEP
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 25, 2025
The measure follows Trump’s decision last month to deploy the National Guard and federal law enforcement to take over policing in the capital, citing the city’s high crime rates.
>> Crime rates plummet in DC after Trump orders federal takeover <<
In a third order Sept. 25, Trump signed a National Security Presidential Memorandum to launch an administration-wide response to domestic terrorism and organized political violence.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said the effort will target groups like Antifa, which the administration formally designated a terrorist organization in an order on Sept. 22.
BREAKING: President Trump signs a National Security Presidential Memorandum to dismantle all domestic political violence and terrorism.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) September 25, 2025
pic.twitter.com/Al8bFEinoi
Miller explained the administration is “looking at interdicting these groups, preventing them from performing acts of violence, and also looking at sources of organization and funding and support to prop them up and allow them to do the acts that they have been doing.”