The shares of Donald Trump's media company have fallen sharply. His fans blame “stock manipulation” by the Liberals – and speak of a test of faith.
NEW YORK (AP) — Jerry Dean McLain first bet on Truth Social, former President Donald Trump's social media platform, two years ago. He bought into the Trump company's planned merger partner, Digital World Acquisition, for $90 per share. Over time, as the price changed, he continued buying, accumulating hundreds of shares for $25,000 - pretty much his "entire nest egg," he says.
That nest egg has lost about half its value in the past two weeks, as Trump Media & Technology Group's stock price fell from $66 after its stock market debut last month to $32 on Friday. But McLain, 71, who owns a tree removal service outside Oklahoma City, said he's not worried. If anything, he wants to buy more. “I know very well that it is in Trump’s hands and he has plans,” he said. “I have no doubt it will explode at some point.
Truth Social operator Trump Media with disappointing figures and falling share price on the stock market
For shareholders like McLain, investing in Truth Social is less a business calculation than a commitment to the former president and the company that goes by his initials, DJT. Even the company's falling stock price -- and the possibility that most of their investments could be wiped out -- doesn't appear to have shaken that confidence. The company has lost $3.5 billion in value since its stock market debut last month.
As a company, Trump Media has largely disappointed expectations: It lost $58 million on revenue of $4 million last year, less than the average Chick-fil-A franchise, despite paying out millions in executive salaries, bonuses and stock has.
And in two years, Truth Social has achieved only a tiny fraction of the traffic of other platforms, according to estimates from analytics firm Similarweb - one of the only ways to measure the company's performance, since it says it has "certain key operating metrics that companies in used in similar industries does not currently collect, monitor or report and may never do so.”
Trump Media says it has many small investors
But for some Trump investors, the shares are a badge of honor — a way to show their commitment to the company that goes beyond buying Trump merchandise, visiting Trump golf courses or donating to Trump's presidential campaign.
Trump Media spokeswoman Shannon Devine said in a statement that "Truth Social has created a free speech beachhead against Big Tech for a fraction of the startup and operating costs incurred by legacy tech companies with no debt, more than $200 million in the bank, and the support of hundreds of thousands of retail investors who believe deeply in our mission.”
Trump Media has boasted that it has profited from a flood of “retail investors” – small and hobby shareholders who put their personal money to work. Merger partner Digital World Acquisition said its shares were purchased by nearly 400,000 retail investors. And Trump Media Chief Executive Devin Nunes told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday that the company has attracted more than 200,000 new investors in recent weeks.
Many of Trump stock's investors say they're in it for the long haul
“There is no other company that has retail investors like this,” said Nunes, who will receive a $1 million salary this year, a $600,000 bonus and a stock package worth $3.7 million. In an interview with conservative commentator Sean Hannity last month, the former Republican congressman recounted a recent discussion with Trump in which the two men celebrated "opening the internet and keeping it open to the American people." “I will never forget the conversation we had,” Nunes said. "He said, 'You know, once we're all dead, this will last forever.'"
Many of Truth Social's investors say they're in it for the long haul. Todd Snaker, an interior designer at a West Palm Beach furniture store who said Trump was one of his clients, said he has invested about $20,000 in total and is buying new shares every week. Snaker said he's watching his stock's performance every day now and hoping for positive signs. In a Truth Social post last week, he urged "everyone who supports Donald Trump and Truth [Social] to buy a stock every day" and asked, "Do you think we've hit bottom?" ( The stock slipped almost 10 percent after this post.)
He suspects that the recent share price drops were the result of “stock manipulation” resulting from an “organized effort” to make the company look bad. There is no evidence of such a campaign, but Schnurer is convinced of it. “It has to be political,” he said, “the Liberals are trying to bring the company down.”
Trump fans: Stock acquisition as a battle of “good versus evil” to defend Trump from liberal elites
This range of emotions is evident on Truth Social, where thousands of mostly anonymous accounts belong to meme-filled investor groups. One of them is decorated with a computer-generated image showing Trump shaking his fist on a Wall Street trading floor.
Some accounts there have recently encouraged traders to invest further in what they say is a battle of “good versus evil” — a way to defend Trump from the liberal elites who laugh at him, and by extension, them. User @BaldylocksUSMC said that "the battle has been long and hard for most of us" and that "this stock is not for the weak" but that they would one day triumph over the critics who are "irremediably brainwashed."
After billionaire media mogul Barry Diller called Trump Media a "scam stock" being bought by "idiots," one account, @Handbag72, claimed to have bought more shares because Diller "didn't get it" or was "at risk of losing $ $$$ to lose”. The next day, the account shared a 2021 blog post from investment forum Seeking Alpha that said Truth Social could be worth $1 trillion in the next 10 years.
“Painful to digest”: Truth Social users post losses with Trump shares online
But there are also signs of uncertainty and disappointment, with some saying they lost thousands of dollars or "risked literally everything." A user who posted "Have you had enough of WINNING?" earlier this year when the stock was soaring now wrote that this week's losses were "painful to digest." “Come on DJT, every time I buy more the price falls further,” wrote user @bill7718. “When are we at the BOTTOM!! (He posted a chart on Thursday showing a slight rise in the stock with the caption “moving!!.” The price has since fallen again.)
User @manofpeace123, who said he bought shares at $65 and that 71 percent of his portfolio was made up of DJT shares, said Wednesday that his investments were intended to tell Trump: "I believe in you and I stand with you, in good times and bad." But a day later, the user added: "I can't help but feel sad. ...I feel like I'm trying to catch a falling knife."
Another account, @realJaneBLONDE, posted on Sunday that she was "NOT panicked, NOT worried," before writing a message two days later to Trump and congressional Republicans urging her to stop betting against stocks or short selling to make it “illegal”. “I’m tired of MY investment money being stolen,” she wrote. “They’re stealing people’s money and you’re letting it happen!”
Truth Social users blame “deep state” for loss in Trump shares
Some users said they were "confused" by the stock's ups and downs, and one asked for advice on how to tell her husband she didn't want to sell. One user posted a meme saying, "If you're worried about your money, remember that DJT stock is about FREE SPEECH and money isn't worth much without FREE SPEECH."
However, other users saw such questions as an expression of unacceptable doubt. When user @seneca1950 asked if anyone was worried that the company's upcoming plans to issue another ten million shares could cause the stock price to fall, two accounts criticized the account for spreading "FUD" - fear, uncertainty and doubt ( Translated: fear, uncertainty and doubt). “Are you a fudster,” wrote a user named “Jesus Revolution 2024.” Another, named Rabristol, wrote: "You must be short of money and have no way out!"
In moments of apparent despair, some users are trying to cheer each other up by arguing that they are enduring the same kind of deep state attacks that have long overshadowed Trump himself. When user @BingBlangBlaow said he was embarrassed to be so "deep in the red" and asked why "everyone is acting like everything is fine," Chad Nedohin, a Canadian investor and prominent proponent of the stock, responded on Truth Social and the video site Rumble: “Nobody's doing well with this, but we're DJT now. The 'deep state' is closing in on Trump... and us.”
However, the user subsequently wrote that he was not convinced by the argument. "I'm tired of blaming the deep state," he said. He later added: “You would think that the 'greatest political movement of all time' would want to support the man who leads it and would get much better numbers than this. (The accounts did not respond to messages and provided no way to contact them).
Stockholders: Trump stock can easily rise to $1,000
Carol Swain, a prominent conservative commentator in Nashville who formerly taught political science at Vanderbilt University, said she invested $1,000 in Trump Media stocks earlier this month. At a price of $48 per share, despite the objections of their financial advisor, who predicted the stock would plummet. “If I lose it, fine. If I make a profit, great. But at the end of the day, I wanted to show my support,” she said. “There are so many efforts to destroy him and take away his wealth, and so much gloating about it. I want him to be a winner.”
She also suspects stock manipulation and argues that “the people who hate Donald Trump will do anything to hurt him.” As for Truth Social itself, she says she posts there sparingly, preferring X, where she has 35 times as many followers. “I always didn’t want to just preach to the choir,” she said.
McLain, the owner of a tree care business in Oklahoma, said he believes the stock could easily rise to $1,000 once the media stops writing so negatively about it and the company overcomes its growing pains. The company's executives, McLain said, are "too quiet right now" when it comes to questions about the falling stock price, but he suspects that's because they're working on something amazing and new.
McLain is an amateur trader - he only invested once and "lost his ass" - and said he hasn't discussed his investment with his family: "You know what it's like." But he believes the deal with Trump Media is a sign that “he should invest,” he said. “This isn’t just another stock for me. ... I feel like God Almighty put her in my lap,” he said. “I just have to hang in there and let them do their job. If you rely on emotions, you will get out at the first bear market.”
Razzan Nakhlawi contributed to this report.
We are currently testing machine translations. This article was automatically translated from English into German.
This article was first published in English on April 14, 2024 at the “Washingtonpost.com” - as part of a cooperation, it is now also available in translation to readers of the IPPEN.MEDIA portals.