President Trump Befriends Another Dictator After Putin ‘Lets Him Down’

President Donald Trump says Chinese leader Xi Jinping has signed off on a deal that will hand TikTok’s U.S. operations to a group of American investors, saving the app from a looming ban that threatened access for as many as 157 million U.S. users.

The announcement came just a day after Trump admitted Russian President Vladimir Putin had “let him down” on Ukraine, shifting his attention Friday to his relationship with Xi. Trump revealed the two leaders held a “very productive” phone call covering trade, the fentanyl crisis, the war in Ukraine—and the TikTok agreement.

“I just completed a very productive call with President Xi of China,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “We made progress on many very important issues including Trade, Fentanyl, the need to bring the War between Russia and Ukraine to an end, and the approval of the TikTok Deal.”

Trump also confirmed that he and Xi will meet at the APEC summit in South Korea and that they plan reciprocal state visits in 2026, with Trump traveling to China early in the year and Xi visiting the U.S. later.

While details of the deal have not yet been released by the White House, reports say TikTok’s U.S. business will be overseen by an investor consortium including Oracle, Silver Lake, and Andreessen Horowitz. Oracle’s billionaire co-founder Larry Ellison, a close Trump ally who briefly topped the global wealth charts this month, is set to play a key role.

The TikTok breakthrough comes after months of tense negotiations amid an ongoing trade war. Trump, eager to cement progress with Beijing, reportedly held back more than $400 million in military aid to Taiwan—a major shift in U.S. policy that drew alarm from national security analysts.

The call marked the first conversation between Trump and Xi since June, during a time of growing tension. Earlier this month, Trump lashed out at Xi after China hosted a lavish military parade in Beijing featuring Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. On Truth Social, Trump blasted the show of force, sarcastically sending “warm regards” to the trio “as you conspire against the United States.”

Meanwhile, Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with Putin, accusing the Russian leader of stalling peace efforts despite high-profile U.S. overtures—including a red-carpet welcome in Alaska in August. “He’s let me down,” Trump said bluntly during a press conference in London with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, noting Russian warplanes have continued to violate NATO airspace.

The TikTok deal, however, gives Trump a major political win at home, avoiding a disruption that could have affected millions of Americans.