TikTok isn't about Trump

Why it matters: Scream this for the cheap seats — this is not a buyside problem! It's a sellside problem!

• TikTok has never had a suitor shortage, going back to when President Trump tried to ban the app in his first term.
• The problem has been Beijing and, to a lesser extent, TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance. And that still doesn't appear to have been resolved.

Several sources close to this process tell Axios that they've still not heard of direct discussions between the U.S. and Chinese governments on a particular proposal, even though Trump's extension expires on Saturday.

• It's possible that Trump will pick a "winner" and then China quickly capitulates, maybe in exchange for tariff relief, although the more likely scenario is that he simply grants another extension.

The bottom line: The White House, led in this case by Vice President Vance, is working as matchmaker for a throuple. But so far only seems to be playing two sides.