This week, U.S. President Trump issued a public threat to TikTok that he would cut TikTok’s operations in the U.S. unless it sells U.S. operations before September 15. However, the US media revealed that before Trump announced his decision, there were long disagreements within the White House on how to handle TikTok, and there were fierce quarrels in the office of the president.

According to reports, Trump’s two core advisers, trade adviser Navarro and finance minister Mnuchin, had a heated argument in White House. According to the Washington Post, Mnuchin advocated selling TikTok to American companies to continue to operate, while Navarro believed that TikTok should be completely banned. The two sides quarreled in front of Trump.

Navarro opposed this plan. He demanded a complete ban on TikTok and accused Mnuchin of being too weak towards China. Mnuchin was extremely surprised by this.

Navarro responded to this in a statement, saying, “The affairs of the President’s Office should only remain in the office. This is vital to a strong America. Therefore, it is obvious that this is full of exaggerations and false information, so I will make no comment on this malicious disclosure.”

According to reports, the quarrel was described by a person present as a “knockdown, drag-out brawl” .

The report also revealed that investors, lobbyists, and corporate executives had been conducting behind-the-scenes transactions for several months before the incident. Many stakeholders have understood how important it is to build close relationships with key figures in the Trump administration.

But in the past few weeks, they have also realized the unpredictability and uncertainty of commercial agreements in the Trump administration. How the winner of the fierce debate in front of Trump can help determine this multi-billion dollar acquisition, which may reshape the technology industry in the next few years.

Over the past two weeks, TikTok’s future has been publicly tossed about, first as it appeared the president would agree to a sale, then that he would ban it outright, then that he would allow a sale again — but only if a fee were paid to the US Treasury.

Douglas, the former head of the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, said that this makes it difficult for the American business community to understand the policy direction of the U.S. government.

In the recent TikTok incident, there has long been a clear distinction between the “banning faction” and the “acquisition faction” within the White House. On August 5, several officials familiar with the matter told CNN that Mnuchin, White House economic adviser Kudlow, Attorney General Barr, and White House adviser Kylian Conway all wanted to persuade the president to support Microsoft’s acquisition plan.

The national security advisers such as Navarro and Trump’s deputy national security adviser Matthew Pottinger have repeatedly made smears against TikTok in an attempt to support the ban on TikTok. Navarro, who opposed the acquisition of TikTok, also attacked Microsoft. In his CNN program, he not only tried to render the relationship between Microsoft and China, but also suggested that if Microsoft wants to buy TikTok, then Microsoft should also divest its assets in China.