In order to win a US presidential election, every candidate needs to make sacrifices. Donald Trump just made one.
Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump made a surprising move on Tuesday returning to the social media X (formerly known as Twitter). Donald Trump’s account has over 89 million followers on the platform.
The move cost him over $170 million as shares of his Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) fell over 5% on Monday. The stock price plummeted an additional 3% in pre-market trade on Tuesday.
Trump has a 65% stake in TMTG, hence the net worth loss.
TMTG is the owner of Truth Social, the social media Trump used as a political platform since he was banned from mainstream apps like Twitter and Facebook. His accounts were flagged in 2021 following Trump’s alleged endorsement of the January 6th assault on Capitol Hill.
In October 2022, Tesla CEO Elon Musk purchased Twitter for $44 billion branding himself as the “protector of free speech”. As a result, Musk reinstated Trump’s account, though he did not immediately start using it.
Elon Musk expressed his support and endorsement of Donald Trump several times. Musk reportedly donated $45 million each month to Trump’s campaign, though he flatly denied it.
Trump made his return on X one day before an interview with Musk himself. His previous post dates back to August 24th, 2023. The one before goes back to January 8th, 2021, shortly before his ban.
Why Trump’s return to X will be expensive
One thing Trump’s campaign lacked compared to the Democratic equivalent was funding. In an attempt to increase his personal net worth, Trump pushed to make TMTG public.
TMTG does not have the financial structure of a typical public company. The IPO filing revealed the company bleeds money, with a $16.4 million net loss against a $837,000 revenue last quarter.
Nevertheless, Trump’s personal image contributed to the IPO’s success, though TMTG stock has been extremely volatile. The moment TMTG went public, Trump’s stake was worth $4.5 billion. Today, it’s worth roughly $2 billion and keeps falling.
Trump’s return on X will likely seal TMTG’s fate as a public company. Nevertheless, the move was necessary from a political standpoint.
After President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race and was replaced by Kamala Harris, the Democratic campaign received a fresh breath of life. Harris is now polling ahead of Trump in every poll and looks set to win some crucial swing states as well.
X is a large political platform that is necessary for Trump to reverse the current trend. And even then, his victory in anything but secured.
