Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) stock, which trades under the stock ticker symbol $DJT, is down over 40% over the past month, and the price took another tumble this week after the former President Donald Trump returned to X for a Spaces interview with X CEO Elon Musk.
All that downward movement is worrying even the die-hard $DJT stock backers over on Trump’s social media platform Truth Social, many of whom see their investment in the stock as a personal vote of confidence in Trump.
“I’m getting so screwed here. I have lost thousands… Why didn’t DJT live stream this on TS as well,” asked @Themuppetman. “Would have brought in new listeners.. especially when Twitters technology sucks since he fired thousands of engineers. What the heck?!?!”
The stock sank $1.20 from its post-close high yesterday, and 2% overall. On Friday, the stock closed at $26.30 and is down over two dollars.
Trump’s interview with Musk, scheduled for a prime-time slot on Monday evening, got off to a wonky start. Users struggled to join the Space and the kickoff, initially scheduled for 7pm CT, got pushed back a couple of times before finally beginning 45 minutes later.
Musk blamed the technical difficulties on a distributed denial of service (DDOS) attack, but the Verge reported that a source at the company told them there was no such attack. Another X staffer told the publication there was a “99 percent” chance that Musk lied about it.
Whatever the technical reasons for the Space problems, Trump’s appearance on the platform as well as a series of campaign-related tweets sparked concerns among some TMTG investors. Truth Social is the company’s flagship platform, and the company admitted in SEC filings that Trump’s presence on the site is the only way to drive traffic to it and maintain a profit.
Musk, for his part, has gone to lengths to lure Trump back to X.
“TMTG’s success depends in part on the popularity of our brand and the reputation and popularity of President Donald J. Trump,” the company explained in its quarterly report in May.
In April, it acknowledged that a “loss of [Trump’s] services” could “adversely affect” the company’s revenue. And it also pointed to the possibility that the company could be damaged in September when the lockup period ends for Trump and other insiders, who can then offload their shares if they choose. Trump and others subject to the terms of the agreement can start selling on Sept. 19.
$DJT has been buffeted by a few countervailing winds, including short sellers who use risky financial instruments to place bets that the stock will go down.
$DJT holders, as well as TMTG in its own investor communications, portrayed themselves as battling against these short sellers, who they cast as opponents of the former president.
In mid-July, after the unsuccessful assassination attempt against Trump, some posters claimed to have dug up a short-selling plot against Trump set the day before the attempt went down. But that theory quickly fell apart when the company behind the shorts explained that the document reflected holding as of June 28, and vastly overstated the puts placed against Trump.
Over on Truth Social, the disappointment about Trump’s move back to X from some posters was palpable. Trump hadn’t posted on the site since his Fulton County arrest over election interference charges last August, which even then was only one tweet.
“Not one mention of TS last night was disappointing,” posted @1coopergal.
“A good way to reverse this a weekly Truth social chat by Trump,” proposed @StockGuy117. “It would be free and he could bring on guests. A simple 30 minutes a week. How has this not happened?”
“I been saying this. Its poor leadership. Anyone at Truth social can do it but they dont,” replied @SaiaN8ter.
But not everybody was too upset about the downturn, encouraging other investors to hold the line and to see the dip as an opportunity to buy the stock at a discounted price, a common stance on the site whenever the stock takes a hit.
“I still trust that the patriots are in control, a plan is being followed, and things are being prepped for a massive strategic counter-offensive. I’m not selling, so I’m not going to lose what little sleep I get over this momentary price discount,” posted @PappaPatriot.
“Perfect opportunity to average down. You know the drill by the dip ignore all the fear-mongering posts business as usual not financial advice,” added @CIKTRUTH.
Some were a little more skeptical of that enthusiasm though.
“DJT will be in the teens by friday,” predicted @Freedom_Fries_4_All gloomily.
But that sort of doom-mongering quickly provoked backlash from those still a hundred percent committed to the stock.
“It wouldn’t matter if he mentioned it or announced we’re giving away Trillions in gold to sign up. We’re in this with DJT and the importance of this much needed platform,” posted @DKBAdams. “For most of us, we joined to be in the battle with him.”
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
