BREAKING: President Trump Says He Will Ban TikTok As Soon As Saturday

TikTok could be banned in the United States as soon as this weekend.

President Donald Trump shared the revelation while chatting with reporters on Air Force One Friday evening, according to multiple reporters on the plane.

“As far as TikTok is concerned we’re banning them from the United States,” Trump reportedly said via CNBC.

The president did not specify whether or he will act through an executive order or some other way.

“Well, I have that authority. I can do it with an executive order or that,” Trump reportedly said Friday evening.

The controversy over TikTok began earlier this year. The Trump administration has been threatening to ban the app in the United States which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance.

Earlier this summer, Trump officials (including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo) said the United States was considering banning TikTok as well as other Chinese social media apps amid national security concerns. United States officials have expressed concerns about Chinese tech companies harvesting the data of United States citizens.

As for TikTok's future, Microsoft has reportedly been in advanced talks to acquire U.S. operations of TikTok, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The exact nature of the deal was not immediately clear.

The app's popularity exploded as the nation went into quarantine amid the coronavirus pandemic this spring. It's now estimated that TikTok has an audience of approximately 80 million monthly active users in the United States.

The concerns about the safety and security of the app reach over the aisle to both major political parties.  The Democratic and Republican national committees have both issued warnings to their staffs about using the app TikTok this month, CNN reports.

Earlier this year, the Chinese owners of Grindr, the world's most popular gay dating app, were forced by the U.S. government to reach a deal to sell their platform.

Grindr's parent company, Beijing Kunlun Tech, disposed of the app in early March. It was acquired by San Vicente Acquisition for about $608.5 million, the LA Times reports.

We'll see if President Trump makes any more announcements about TikTok's fate this weekend.