Trump says Google has 'a lot of power' and he would do 'something' about it — but stops short of favoring a break-up

• Donald Trump was asked Tuesday about Google's antitrust challenges.
• Trump said Google "has a lot of power" but didn't say he favored a breakup.
• "We want to have great companies," he said. "We don't want China to have these companies."

Former President Donald Trump weighed in on Google's antitrust challenges, criticizing the company while saying it was important for the US to have "great companies."

The US Department of Justice is weighing asking a federal judge to break up Google after a ruling in August that said the company illegally acted as a monopoly in its search business.

The judge's specific remedies for the verdict — which Google can appeal — remain to be seen. And while Trump criticized Google in an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday, he also said he gave them credit for being powerful and declined to say he was in favor of breaking up the company.

When asked, "Should Google be broken up," Trump said that Google has "a lot of power" and that he would "do something" about it.

"They are very bad to me," he said, alleging that the search giant was "rigged" and didn't display positive stories about him. He also said he called the head of Google to voice his concerns.

But the antitrust concerns involving the company are more challenging to consider, Trump said.

"I give them a lot of credit, they've become such a power," Trump said of Google.

"How they became a power is, you know, really the discussion," he said. "At the same time, it's a very dangerous thing because want to have great companies — we don't want China to have these companies. Right now, China is afraid of Google."

He also addressed his evolving stance on TikTok, which he initially wanted to ban before joining the app.

"I think everything is a threat," Trump told Bloomberg of TikTok. "Sometimes you have to fight through the threats."

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. A Google spokesperson declined to comment.

Neil Chilson, a former acting chief technologist at the FTC, told Business Insider that, if he's re-elected, Trump's ideas for a remedy against Google could influence the outcome of the case.

"Trump will pick who will be the Attorney General and who will be the acting Attorney General in charge of antitrust, and they will be responsible for continuing this litigation, which will likely be ongoing post-election," Chilson said. "So, yes, there's absolutely a way for his preferences on what remedies the DOJ pursues to be reflected in what the DOJ says and files in court."

He added: "Now, of course, that doesn't mean that the judge will be persuaded, but yes, his preferences could make a difference."

Big Tech companies have frequently found themselves in Trump's crosshairs. In September, Trump threatened to prosecute Google "at the maximum levels" if he's elected, saying the company favored Vice President Kamala Harris in its search results — which Google denied.

"Both campaign websites consistently appear at the top of Search for relevant and common search queries," Google said in a statement at the time.

"Queries about the presidential election or candidates generally surface links to constantly changing news articles reflecting what's on the web - so they change all the time," a spokesperson for Google added in an email to BI in September. "We absolutely do not manipulate Search results to favor any candidate."

Trump has also had a lengthy feud with Mark Zuckerberg and threatened in July to imprison the Facebook founder.

In addition to the antitrust case involving Google's search product, the company is facing a separate suit filed by the DOJ and 17 state attorneys general alleging it built a monopoly with its advertising business. Closing arguments in that case are scheduled for the end of November, with a ruling expected early next year.