Trump Media Sells Real-Time Trump Posts to Wall Street
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- Trump Media & Technology Group announced a paid API service Thursday offering "licensed, real-time access" to posts from President Trump and other top Truth Social accounts, targeted at firms tracking market-moving information
- Trump's @realDonaldTrump account has 12.9 million followers on Truth Social (per a 2025 SEO.ai survey), making it the platform's largest account, and the president regularly posts official communications there first — including updates on Iran and tariffs
- Trump Media interim CEO Kevin McGurn framed the product around trading demand, saying in the release: "Markets already move on Truth Social posts"
- Trump Media shares (Nasdaq: DJT) are down 84% since going public via SPAC merger on March 26, 2024, according to FactSet; Trump's roughly 114 million shares (42% of the company) were transferred to a revocable trust in his son Donald Trump Jr.'s name after he won the presidency
- Ethics attorney Virginia Canter of Democracy Defenders Fund called the arrangement "a huge conflict of interest," arguing Trump is funneling presidential communications through a private channel where he holds a major financial stake
- Truth Social launched in 2021 after X and Facebook banned Trump following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot; Trump has since been reinstated to both platforms
Why it matters: Wall Street firms now have a paid, structured pipeline to the president's feed before official announcements, while Trump's family — holding 42% of Trump Media — profits from monetizing that access. With DJT shares down 84% since the March 2024 SPAC listing, the API is a fresh revenue lever for a struggling stock, and it formalizes the ethics gray zone Canter flagged: a sitting president broadcasting market-moving policy through his own company's product.
