Tik Tok Deal Falls Apart Over Tariffs? Senate Framework Fight, Russia Tries Ref Role between U.S. Iran

 • TikTok sale deal was ready for Trump's signature before his Chinese tariff announcement caused ByteDance to back out
• Potential buyers included major corporations like Oracle and Amazon, plus surprise bidders like OnlyFans' founder
• Trump announced a 75-day extension beyond Saturday's deadline, claiming "tariffs are the most powerful economic tool"
• Senate Republicans passed Trump's budget framework at 2:30am with a 51-48 vote
• The plan raises the debt ceiling by $5 trillion and makes Trump's 2017 tax cuts permanent using controversial accounting methods
• Russia called Trump's threats to bomb Iran "illegal and unacceptable" in a rare diplomatic rebuke
• Iran is currently enriching uranium to 60% purity, just short of weapons-grade levels
• Experts warn Iran could develop nuclear weapons within weeks if they take final steps 

 The political chessboard is getting more complex by the day as President Trump makes significant moves across multiple policy fronts simultaneously. Our latest episode unpacks three major developments that showcase the administration's multifaceted approach to domestic and international challenges.

We dive deep into the TikTok saga's stunning plot twist: a sale agreement that was reportedly finalized and ready for Trump's signature before his sweeping tariff announcement sent ByteDance representatives running for the exits. The buyer pool was surprisingly diverse, with serious interest from tech giants like Oracle and Amazon alongside unexpected contenders including the founder of OnlyFans. With 170 million American users hanging in the balance, Trump has now granted a 75-day extension while claiming "tariffs are the most powerful economic tool" – a classic negotiating tactic that's reshaping multiple fronts at once.

Meanwhile, Senate Republicans worked through the night to pass Trump's ambitious budget framework at 2:30am Saturday morning. The plan would raise the debt ceiling by $5 trillion and make the 2017 tax cuts permanent using a controversial accounting method that scores the extensions at $0 cost to the deficit. Even some Republicans are questioning this approach, with Senator Bill Cassidy calling it a "dangerous precedent." The reconciliation process effectively sidelines Democrats from the process, but House conservatives may still pose a challenge with their concerns about deficit spending.

On the global stage, Russia has entered the diplomatic fray by strongly condemning Trump's threats to bomb Iran as "illegal and unacceptable." This comes as Tehran continues enriching uranium to 60% purity – dangerously close to weapons-grade levels – with experts warning they could develop nuclear weapons within weeks if final steps are taken. Former intelligence officers suggest Putin may be angling to serve as a broker between Washington and Tehran, adding another layer to an already complex geopolitical chess match with enormous stakes.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello America, joc here with your Ranting Politics
headline updates, where we arediving into today's most
explosive political stories thatmatter Coming up.
We're diving into three hugedevelopments you need to know
about First, a TikTok sale dealthat was apparently in the bag
before Trump's tariff bombshellthrew everything into chaos.

(00:23):
Then we'll unpack the SenateRepublicans' late-night budget
marathon that just passedTrump's fiscal framework after a
grueling voterama.
And finally, russia callingTrump's Iran bombing threats
illegal and unacceptable.
Diplomatic speak for pump thebrakes.
If you're just tuning in forthe first time.
Welcome to America'sfastest-growing daily news

(00:44):
rundown, designed specificallyfor your commute run or coffee
time.
Stick around for all this andmore in your daily dose of
unfiltered news and common-sensecommentary.
This is Ranting PoliticsHeadline Updates.
Well, folks talk about a plottwist in the TikTok saga.

(01:16):
According to reporting from theNew York Post, president Trump's
plan to secure a US buyer forthe Chinese-owned social media
giant was actually finalizedearlier this week, right before
his sweeping tariff announcementblew the whole deal to
smithereens.
By Wednesday, white Houseofficials had supposedly worked
out all the details for Trump tosign an executive order that

(01:37):
would authorize the sale ofTikTok from ByteDance to a
company majority owned byAmerican investors.
This would have kicked Beijingdown to a minority ownership
position, satisfying thelegislation passed under Biden
that forced the qualifieddivestment.
The deal would have alsoextended Saturday's sale
deadline by four months to sortout financing and paperwork.
Pretty straightforward, rightWrong.

(01:59):
Enter Trump's decision to dropthe tariff hammer, slapping an
additional 34% duties on Chinesegoods.
Fight dance representativesapparently called the whole
thing off faster than you canscroll through your For you page
.
They're now refusing to budgeuntil China and the US hold
broader talks about future traderelations and get this.
The potential buyer pool wasfascinating.

(02:21):
Vice President JD Vance hadreportedly been leading these
discussions for months, courtingheavy hitters like Oracle and
Amazon.
But wait, there's more.
The founder of OnlyFans yes,that OnlyFans Tim Stokely,
apparently made a late-stageindependent offer to acquire
TikTok.
Can you imagine that corporatetransition meeting?

(02:41):
There was even a Wyoming mediaentrepreneur named Reed Rasner
who put in a $50 million offerthat Trump boosted on Truth
Social.
Talk about a long shot.
Let's not forget why thismatters.
Around 170 million Americans useTikTok, which has raised
serious national securityconcerns about data sharing with
its Chinese parent company.
Trump has suggested that sharescould be held by a planned US

(03:05):
sovereign wealth fund.
Bytedance confirmed Friday.
They've been in discussionswith the US government but said
an agreement has not beenexecuted and that key matters
remain unresolved.
Any agreement would also needapproval under Chinese law.
Trump bought everyone some timethough, announcing a 75-day
extension beyond Saturday'sdeadline, writing on Truth

(03:26):
Social that the deal requiresmore work.
He added, rather pointedly thisproves that tariffs are the
most powerful economic tool.
Classic Trump move, usingtariffs as leverage in
negotiations across multiplefronts.
Across multiple fronts.
In a marathon vote session thatstretched into the wee hours of
Saturday morning, senateRepublicans managed to push

(03:48):
through a framework forPresident Trump's ambitious
budget agenda.
The measure passed mostly alongparty lines in a 51 to 48 vote
around 2.30 am, with only twoRepublicans, susan Collins of
Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky,joining Democrats in opposition
.
So what exactly does thisbudget blueprint contain?
Well, it's essentially aRepublican wish list that would

(04:11):
raise the debt ceiling by up to$5 trillion through the
reconciliation process, whichconveniently removes future
leverage from Senate Democrats,and, perhaps most significantly,
it aims to make Trump's 2017tax cuts permanent.
Now here's where things getinteresting and a bit
controversial.
The framework uses what'scalled a current policy baseline

(04:34):
scoring method, chosen byBudget Committee Chairman
Lindsey Graham.
In plain English.
This accounting trickessentially scores the cost of
extending Trump's tax cuts at $0, because it's continuing
current policy rather thancounting it as new money being
added to the federal deficit.
Even some Republicans areraising eyebrows at this
approach.
Senator Bill Cassidy fromLouisiana openly acknowledged on

(04:58):
the Senate floor that he hasconcerns.
Saying I am not saying that Ithink it is better that we use
current policy as baseline.
It's never been done before.
In a setting like this.
I think it establishes adangerous precedent.
Some House conservatives havegone even further, dismissing it
outright as a gimmick, butSenate GOP leadership is closing
ranks, with Majority LeaderJohn Thune calling the

(05:21):
resolution the first step towarda final bill to make permanent
the tax relief we implemented in2017.
The budget reconciliationprocess is critical here because
it lowers the vote threshold inthe Senate from 60 to 51,
allowing Republicans to approvecertain priorities without a
single Democrat vote.
With a Republican trifecta inWashington, this tool is seen as

(05:43):
essential for delivering onTrump's agenda.
During the six-hour vote-a-rama, democrats introduced
amendments aimed at raising theminimum wage, limiting Trump's
tariffs and blocking potentialMedicaid cuts, all of which were
rejected by the Republicanmajority.
Senate Minority Leader ChuckSchumer lamented afterward that
Tonight Senate Democrats gaveSenate Republicans the chance to

(06:05):
hit the kill switch on DonaldTrump's tariffs, on Doge, on the
attacks against Social Securityand Medicare and Medicaid, and
at each opportunity Republicansrefused.
Trump himself expressedenthusiastic support for the
Senate framework earlier thisweek, declaring at an unrelated
event if we get this done, it'llbe the most incredible bill
ever passed in the history ofour Congress, because of course

(06:27):
he did.
Now the question remainswhether House conservatives will
accept the Senate plan, despiteits similarities to their own
framework passed last month.
As the New York Post reports,the House Budget Committee's
Republican majority fired awarning shot right before the
Senate vote, posting online.
Cutting taxes without cuttingspending doesn't reduce taxes.
It merely shifts the tax burdento our children.

(06:51):
Well, it looks like the tensionbetween the Trump administration
and Iran is heating up, and nowRussia is jumping into the fray
.
Moscow is pushing back hardagainst President Trump's recent
threats to bomb Iran, withRussian officials labeling such
actions illegal and unacceptable.
President Trump has beenramping up his rhetoric against
Iran in recent days, warning ofpotential direct conflict if

(07:14):
Tehran doesn't stop arming theHouthi terrorist group or halt
its nuclear program.
But Russia is making it clearthey don't appreciate this kind
of saber-rattling.
Russian Foreign Ministryspokesperson Maria Zakharova
didn't mince words, stating thatthreats from outside to bomb
Iran's nuclear infrastructurefacilities will inevitably lead
to an irreversible globalcatastrophe.

(07:35):
She emphasized that Russiaremains committed to finding
solutions to Iran's nuclearprogram that respect its right
to peaceful nuclear energy.
But there's more to this storythan just diplomatic posturing.
According to Rebecca Koffler, aformer DIA intelligence officer
specializing in Russia'swarfighting strategy, russia and
Iran are not natural allies.

(07:56):
They share a very turbulenthistory and there's plenty of
distrust in the relationship.
She notes that Russians areactually wary of Iran developing
a fully operational militarizednuclear capability, but would
never admit it publicly.
Koffler suggests that Putin isangling to serve as a broker
between the Trump administrationand the Iranian government on

(08:18):
the nuclear issue.
This isn't the first timeRussia has played both sides.
During the Obama administration, moscow sided with Washington
on economic sanctions againstIran and even complied with
requests not to sell S-300 airdefense missiles to Tehran.
Meanwhile, trump's attempts torestart talks with Iran through
a letter to Supreme Leader AliKhamenei were flatly rejected

(08:40):
last Sunday.
In typical Trump fashion, hetold NBC, if they don't make a
deal, there will be bombing,though he did float the
possibility of secondary tariffsas an alternative.
Iran's President MassoudPazeshkian responded that Iran
doesn't avoid talks, but thatbreach of promises has been the
issue.
They must prove that they canbuild trust.

(09:01):
He added.
The stakes couldn't be higher.
Iran is currently enrichinguranium to 60% just shy of the
90% weapons-grade level, withexperts warning they could have
a nuclear weapon within weeks ifthey take the final steps.
According to a UN atomic agencyreport from late March, iran's
regime has already enrichedenough uranium to manufacture

(09:22):
six nuclear weapons.
Well, folks, that's our newsrundown for today, and what a
news cycle it's been.
Let's recap what we've covered.
President Trump had a TikToksale deal all but finalized
before his tariff announcementthrew a wrench in the works.
Bytedance backed out and nowwe're in a 75-day extension
period while everyone tries tofigure out what happens next

(09:45):
with those 170 million Americanusers.
Meanwhile, senate Republicanspushed through their budget
framework at 2.30 in the morning, setting the stage for making
Trump's tax cuts permanent andraising the debt ceiling by a
cool $5 trillion.
And all this while Russia iscalling Trump's threats to bomb
Iran illegal and unacceptable,setting up a complex diplomatic

(10:07):
chess match between Washington,moscow and Tehran.
The common thread.
President Trump is making bigmoves on multiple fronts
simultaneously Trade, budget,foreign policy creating both
opportunities and complicationsthat will shape American
politics for years to come.
That's all for today's episodeof Ranting Politics Headline

(10:28):
Updates.
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We align with you, the Americancitizen.

(10:50):
This is JOC signing off andthank you, our loyal listeners,
for choosing Ranting PoliticsHeadline Updates.
We'll be back soon with theupdates you need to navigate
these interesting times.
Until then, stay tuned, stayinformed and, as always, stay
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