Trump’s long-shot bid for cut of TikTok sale echoes his border wall pledge

US president Trump’s latest demand is for either the Chinese sellers or the American buyers of TikTok’s US operations to pay the US Treasury a fee based on the sale price, even though it wasn’t clear under what authority he could demand the money. — Reuters

A new border wall paid for by Mexican pesos flowing to the US Treasury. Payments for farmers and ranchers funded by tariffs on Chinese goods collected by the federal government. And now, cash to unlock the sale of the viral video platform TikTok in the United States.

President Donald Trump has frequently depicted himself as standing up for the taxpayer by strong-arming those looking to do business with the United States – whether or not his promises materialise.