Donald Trump pulls off a last-minute coup that will perhaps allow him to save his empire and receive the collateral needed to pay the $464 million fine for the inflated assets, as well as other current and future legal bills.
The shareholders of Digital World Acquisition Corp, a shell company created to acquire another company and list it on the stock exchange, have in fact given their green light to the merger with the tycoon Truth's social media.
The new company will be renamed Trump Media & Technology Group and will be listed under the acronym DJT, the former president's initials, on the Nasdaq from Monday, the day on which the seizure of his assets could begin.
The CEO will be the former congressman and current director of Truth, Devin Nunes, while among the top managers there will be Donald Trump Jr.
The operation will be worth around 5 billion dollars, of which 3.5 will end up in the hands of Trump with a 60% share, a stunning figure for the social media which in over two years has accumulated few users, very little revenue, an investigation for insider trading and a fine from the SEC, the American Consob.
So far, so good.
There are, however, some unknowns.
First of all, the tycoon cannot sell his shares for six months unless the shareholders give him permission.
And while on the one hand they might be inclined to do so - they are all Trumpians - on the other hand they will want to avoid others following the former president's example with the consequent devaluation of the stock.
Secondly, Trump could request a loan, guaranteed by the value of the shares but, according to analysts, it is likely that a bank will not grant him the amount he needs, given the risks of the whole operation.
The tycoon, who is lagging behind Joe Biden in fundraising, continues to flaunt confidence by declaring that he has as much as "500 million dollars in cash" and announcing that he has made an agreement with the Republicans to pocket most of the funds raised by National Committee of the Grand Old Party.
"Thanks to hard work, talent and luck, I have almost five hundred million dollars in cash, a significant sum that I intended to use for my election campaign," he claimed, branding the $464 million fine "insane and politically motivated." .
In the meantime, Trump's henchmen on Capitol Hill have presented a motion of no confidence against the speaker of the House, the Republican Mike Johnson, "guilty" according to them of having formed an alliance with the Democrats to approve the maneuver from 1,200 billion dollars which will avoid the government shutdown until September.
"It is a betrayal of the American people, a betrayal of Republican voters", attacked Marjorie Taylor Greene, a loyalist of the tycoon, defining the law as a "wish list" for the Democrats.
The Georgia congresswoman did not set a date for the vote but spoke of a "warning to Johnson" who at this point could end up like his predecessor Kevin McCarthy with the risk of a new stalemate on Capitol Hill.
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