WASHINGTON, Sept 21 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump

said on Sunday that business leaders Lachlan Murdoch, Larry

Ellison and Michael Dell would be involved as U.S. investors in

a proposed deal to keep TikTok operating in the United States.

Trump has said the U.S. and China have made progress on a deal

requiring TikTok's American assets to be transferred to U.S.

owners from China's ByteDance.

Murdoch, the CEO of Fox Corp, recently cemented long-term

control of his family's media empire that includes Fox News and

the Wall Street Journal after settling a years-long legal battle

with his siblings. The family patriarch, 94-year-old Rupert

Murdoch, may also be involved in the deal, Trump said.

Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle and a major Republican donor,

has long been linked to a potential TikTok deal. Dell is the CEO

of Dell Technologies ( DELL ).

Trump praised the group in an interview with Fox News' "The

Sunday Briefing" program, calling them prominent people and

"American patriots."

"I think they're going to do a really good job," Trump said,

crediting TikTok with helping build his support among young

voters in the 2024 presidential election.

The Trump administration has declined to enforce a U.S. law

enacted during the Biden administration requiring TikTok's

divestiture over fears that its U.S. user data could be accessed

by the Chinese government. Trump has included negotiations over

the popular social media app, which counts 170 million U.S.

users, as part of wide-ranging economic talks with China.