Shares of Trump’s TMTG dropped dramatically days before his confrontation against Kamala Harris at the 2024 US elections.
Donald Trump’s net worth plummeted by over $1 billion on Thursday as shares of his “meme stock” dropped dramatically. Trump is the Republican Candidate at the 2024 US elections that will take place on November 5th.
With less than a week left to the elections, the race appears extremely tight. Polls show Democratic candidate Kamala Harris less than 2 percentage points ahead of Trump, well within the margin of error.
Polymatter, a professional betting site, gives Trump a 61.7% chance of victory against Harris’ 38.3%. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, an outspoken Trump supporter, called Polymatter “more accurate than polls”. Musk claimed betting sites showcase insider knowledge by people willing to bet their money on the final outcome.
The rise in betting odds, as well as Trump’s bombastic performance at a rally in New York City, sent shares of his Truth Social over the roof. Truth Social is owned by Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) whose stock ticket spells “DJT”, Trump’s initials.
TMTG is 57% owned by Trump. His proprietary social network, Truth Social, has been used as a personal political platform since his defeat in the 2020 elections.
Truth Social reported quarterly revenues below $1 million with over $16.4 million in net losses. Its $8 billion market evaluation raised many eyebrows among analysts, calling it a “meme stock” for its volatility and farcical market position.
The latest collapse
In the last week, TMTG suddenly went on a rally after Trump’s weekend rally in New York City. The stock saw its highest one-day increase since it went public last April.
Investors and traders were now betting on Trump’s victory next week. Trump’s performance at the elections is the only thing keeping the stock floating. According to an analyst, if Trump loses TMTG’s stock price could plummet to $0.
On Thursday, the stock price collapsed, erasing the gains made in previous days. The stock lost 22% of its value on Wednesday and dropped by another 12% on Thursday.
According to markets, Trump’s chances next week were hampered by a comedian’s racist remark against Puerto Ricans during a campaign event. Pennsylvania, a crucial swing state that is likely to decide the election’s outcome, has one of the highest populations of Puerto Rican descent in the country.
Puerto Rico is formally a US territory, though it lacks statehood and therefore doesn’t vote for the presidency. “I can’t imagine it’s a big deal: I’ve done more for Puerto Rico than any president,” Trump told Fox News after the incident.
