Trump Media & Technology Group on July 16 announced that it will begin selling speedier access to the Truth Social posts of President Donald Trump and other market influencers on its platform. The company has discussed charging Wall Street traders and investment firms as much as $100,000 a month, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
TMTG said it has already signed up some customers and expects to be onboarding others soon. A trust owned by Donald Trump owns 41% of the social media company.
Risks, leakage concerns, and limited durability
The opportunity is not without risks. Morgan Stanley strategists have concluded that Trump’s ability to move stock markets has diminished during his second term. His influence remains stronger in areas such as oil prices and trade-sensitive assets. Moreover, investors may find they are still behind the curve. A May study by researchers at the University of Queensland found that, in at least 15 cases, as much as two-thirds of gains following Trump's social media posts went to traders who entered their positions shortly before the messages appeared, suggesting possible information leakage.
Trump will doubtless face criticism for cashing in on presidential communications. Yet he has so far shrugged off all accusations of conflicts of interest in his family's business dealings. Ultimately the value of Truth API depends on Trump’s influence, which will fade once he leaves office. The revenue boost could be significant, but is unlikely to last.
Trump Media looks to monetize Truth Social posts
NEW YORK, July 20 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Donald Trump may have finally stumbled on a business model for his struggling social media company. Trump Media & Technology, which owns the Truth Social platform, said last week it would start selling speedy access to the president's posts. The move could provide a much-needed boost to the almost revenue-free company and go some way toward supporting its $2.6 billion market value. However, Trump's limited remaining time in office means the trade suffers from diminishing returns.
Potential revenue could be large, but the business is under pressure
Trump Media is one of the few family ventures that has struggled to profit from the former reality TV star's return to the White House. Its shares have fallen roughly 60% since his 2024 election victory. Despite expanding into cryptocurrencies and financial services the company generated revenue of just $3.7 million last year and recorded a net loss of nearly $700 million. A merger with nuclear fusion wannabe TAE Technologies seems unlikely to change its fortunes.
Selling privileged access to Trump’s posts could transform the economics, though. Hedge funds and other asset managers are already trading on Trump's proclamations about tariffs, companies, and geopolitics. The offer of access to speedier posts may be hard to refuse, especially if rivals sign up. There were 8,573 hedge funds at the end of the first quarter, according to Hedge Fund Research, of which about 15% focus on macroeconomic trends that can be directly affected by Trump’s comments. If all those firms subscribe to Truth API at the mooted rate of $100,000 a month reported by Reuters, Trump Media would bring in more than $1.5 billion annually.
DJT•
