Donald Trump's media company is planning to charge for special high-speed access to Truth Social posts, including possibly his own, a move critics say exploits the presidency for profit and could affect national security and financial markets.
Truth PSI: A New Paid Service
The announcement on Thursday revealed the service, called Truth PSI, which would allow Wall Street trading firms and other institutions to get news first from top Truth Social contributors. This would enable them to profit from subsequent moves in stocks, bonds, and interest rates. The move follows similar offers on rival platforms, but with a key difference: the most popular Truth Social poster is the president himself, and as the biggest shareholder of the publicly traded parent company, he would benefit directly.
Kathleen Clark, a government conflict of interest expert at Washington University School of Law, said: "He's selling expedited, privileged access to information about what he is doing as president. It's yet more brazen corruption, an improper exploitation of government power to enrich himself."
Exploiting the Presidency for Profit
The Trump family company declined to comment on whether the new feature profited off the presidency. Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) did not respond to emailed questions from the Associated Press, including whether Trump's posts would be excluded from the offering. A press release stated the service would allow traders to see "the highest-ranking Truth Social accounts" before other people. The US president has the most followers – 12.9 million – followed by his eldest son, Donald Jr, and his son Eric.
The release did not disclose pricing. Trump regularly uses Truth Social to announce major decisions affecting markets, such as posts about the Iran war and tariffs. Last year, Trump made more than 100 posts in a single day as global stock markets fell sharply amid fears his economic policies could produce a "Trumpcession" in the US. The Iran posts are particularly impactful because investors worry that higher oil prices will stoke inflation and force the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates.
Financial Impact and Stock Decline
Stock in TMTG has plunged more than 70% since the president took office last year, erasing $6bn in shareholder wealth. Those losses, along with billions more in investor losses tied to new Trump family crypto businesses, have drawn scrutiny. Trump's annual disclosure shows he took in more than $1bn in revenue last year from the same companies and offerings.
Trump launched TMTG in 2021 after Meta's Facebook and X banned him for apparently encouraging his supporters to participate in the 6 January attack on the US Capitol. He launched Truth Social in February 2022 and two years later floated the business – trading under the ticker symbol "DJT" – at an initial valuation of $8bn. Trump indirectly owns about 53% of TMTG through shares he transferred to a trust in December 2024, giving him a paper fortune of about $1.41bn based on TMTG's current $2.67bn market capitalisation.
Trump's Revenue and Conflict of Interest Concerns
The US president earned $2.2bn in total in his first year back in office, according to a mandatory disclosure with the US Office of Government Ethics. About $1.4bn of his revenue came from his cryptocurrency business, including $500m from the World Liberty Financial venture. Trump also earned about $500m after an investment firm tied to the United Arab Emirates bought almost half of the company.
Conflict of interest laws would bar US government officials from owning a company that profited off their office by selling access to their decisions through public posts, Clark said. However, the president and vice-president are excluded from the provision. Despite that, all presidents since the law was passed have acted as if it applied – selling individual stocks, dumping business holdings, or putting assets in a blind trust – but Trump has refused.
Trump Media's Diversification and Future Plans
Trump Media has been trying to lift its stock price by branching into various businesses, including cryptocurrency, financial services, and nuclear fusion. It recently replaced its longtime chief executive, Devin Nunes, with Kevin McGurn, a seasoned media executive. In the release, McGurn described Truth PSI as part of a "strategy to monetise proprietary assets" and expected it to become a "meaningful, ongoing source of revenue." Trump Media said it plans to start the service next month and has already signed up customers. The company's stock rose 0.6% to $9.63 on Thursday, down from $40 before Trump took office.
