Truth Social Stock Crashes as Donald Trump Maneuvers to Sell His Own Shares
Pulling the Ripcord
Shares of Donald Trump’s social media meme stock tumbled yet again today, sinking over 16 percent Monday morning.
The timing of the latest shellacking is particularly interesting: it comes after Trump made the first moves to cash out, likely leaving investors — who have already seen their holdings crumble — out to dry.
As Bloomberg reports, Truth Social owner Trump Media & Technology (TMTG) filed to register shares, including ones that are linked to warrants — a sign that Trump and other executives are looking to cash out far sooner than September, at which point the obligatory six-month hold on sales would be over.
The drop has resulted in the former president’s net worth dropping by several billion dollars in just three weeks.
Despite the grim outlook, Trump and his collaborators could still hold on to millions of shares, likely planning to eventually sell them for many hundreds of millions of dollars, according to Bloomberg.
The company, however, still needs permission from the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Trump would also need the green light from TMTG’s board before selling — which shouldn’t be too difficult, given his personal standing.
Analysts have held that investors looking to increase their money should stay away from the former president’s meme stock, calling it a “scam.”
You’re not seeing a huge change in rhetoric from the right wingers about those stats. Imagine that. In fact, Trump is out there every day screeching that US is a dystopian nightmare of “migrant crime” and people can barely leave their houses without being assaulted. Nothing new there. But the facts are clear.
JV Last makes the case for Biden on this issue:
The “Biden crime wave” was always proffered in bad faith because the “crime wave” appeared in 2020, while Donald Trump was president: 2020 saw the largest rise in the murder rate in American history.
Now just because Biden inherited a problem doesn’t mean he gets a pass on its existence. When you’re president, you’re supposed to solve everyone’s problems, not just the ones that crop up during your administration.
And here’s the data: All crime is down under Biden, with one exception.
Violent crimes like murder and rape? Down. Property crimes like burglary and theft? Down. Crime in cities? Down. Crime in rural areas? Down.
The lone exception is that car theft in metropolitan areas has gone up. That’s it.
Like the man said: Take the W.
In Donald Trump’s final year in office the murder rate rose by 30 percent, which was the largest jump in U.S. history. Over Joe Biden’s last 16 months, we’ve had the biggest drop in the murder rate in U.S. history.
If this country puts that orange miscreant back in the White House because the media has failed to properly inform the public of what’s really happening — because of “vibes” — we may never recover. There’s still time to change that before it’s too late.
Massie: I asked him to resign.. The motion is going to get called. And then he's going to lose more votes than Kevin McCarthy pic.twitter.com/w8aJi3XRTE
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) April 16, 2024
Speaker Johnson: “I am not resigning, and it is, in my view, an absurd notion that someone would bring a vacate motion when we are simply here trying to do our jobs.” pic.twitter.com/jUKfCecEuj
— Republican Voters Against Trump (@AccountableGOP) April 16, 2024
It appears that Mike Johnson’s pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago to obtain Trump’s protection didn’t get the job done:
Speaker Mike Johnson took the extraordinary step this morning of publicly announcing that he was “not resigning” after a second conservative GOP hardliner called for his ouster in a closed House Republican Conference meeting.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) stood up in the private meeting in the Capitol and said Johnson should “clean the barn” — clear out all pending controversial legislation — and announce he’s resigning so House Republicans can choose a new speaker.
Massie also said he would support Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) motion to vacate resolution, which the Georgia Republican introduced several weeks ago. Greene has not sought to make it privileged, which would trigger a vote over whether to oust Johnson. This was the same process used to dump former Speaker Kevin McCarthy last year.
The current wave of angst is due to Johnson’s introduction of a package of bills to send aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. House Republicans will need Democratic support to pass the rule in committee and on the floor. And the GOP will need the minority’s support to clear the package.
“We have a rudder,” Massie told reporters following the Republican meeting. ”We’re steering everything toward what Chuck Schumer wants.”
A vote on the aid package is expected by Friday at the earliest, GOP sources say.
Johnson, speaking at a House Republican leadership news conference, said it is “absurd” to try to throw him out of the office right now. Here’s Johnson:
“I am not resigning. And it is, in my view, an absurd notion that someone would bring a vacate motion when we are simply here trying to do our jobs. It is not helpful to the cause, it is not helpful to the country, it does not help the House Republicans advance our agenda, which is in the best interest of the American people here — a secure border, sound governance – and it’s not helpful to the unity that we have in the body.”
Johnson reiterated again as he did Monday that he wasn’t worried about an MTV.
But let’s be clear —It’s not great when a speaker has to go out and publicly declare that he’s not resigning just 174 days into his tenure.
House Democrats are watching the developments inside the GOP conference very closely. They’re concerned not only with Johnson’s fate but what impact it will have on the foreign aid bill, as well as whether they’ll have to intervene in any Republican attempt to oust another speaker.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other top Democrats have signaled they’re willing to support a rule for the foreign aid package and help pass the bill as long as there aren’t any poison-pill provisions attached to the measure.
But a vote to help Johnson stave off a motion to vacate before the foreign aid package comes up is another matter, Democratic insiders said. Johnson would have to definitively state what the package will look like — and how many GOP votes he can deliver for it — before Democratic leaders are going to cut any members loose on the MTV. Timing is everything here, as always.
Two Democrats have said they’d vote to keep Johnson if it came to it. I’m not sure that would help him. There are those who believe that if a Democrats votes for something it’s automatically tainted — they could switch to take Johnson out. And if he does curvive at the hands of Democrats his caucus will treat him as a pariah. If they pull the trigger on this, he’s screwed no matter what.
Trump: The governor of Washington said he can't find cotton, a swab is a very easy thing to get. And a swab is a little more sophisticated than a Q-tip, you got to be able to go out and find. The federal government shouldn't be forced to go and do everything pic.twitter.com/ZooyH7OcGl
Four years ago today, as Americans were dying and in need of testing, Trump complained it was “ridiculous” that he was “supposed” to do “testing in parking lots in the middle of a certain state that's 2,000 miles away” pic.twitter.com/3GkYgM1Im7
He was very hostile to certain states during this period because they weren’t just rolling over for anxious re-opening of the country without adequate testing and supplies. Note how he characterizes one state as being 2,000 miles away as if it isn’t part of America — the country he was supposedly leading.
His performance during that crisis should have made him a pariah in America and instead he’s a hero to almost half the population, so much so that they want him back. I’ll never stop being stunned by that.
Now: Trump's head slowly dropped, his eyes closed. It jerked back upward. He adjusts himself. Then, his head droops again. He straightens up, leaning back. His head doops for a third time, he shakes his shoulders. Eyes closed still. His head drops. Finally, he pops his eyes open.
Firefighters respond to conflagration caused by Russia’s overnight strike on Kharkiv. Photo: State Emergency Service of Ukraine
If it feels odd advocating for U.S. aid to Ukraine to fight Vladimir Putin’s Russian invaders, join the club. Those of us who opposed Cold War proxy battles and geopolitical gamesmanship in remote corners of the planet half a century ago now find ourselves living in a more connected world. When a ship stuck in the Suez Canal can disrupt our lives here, what happens on NATO’s doorstep is equally of concern. Just as much as what happens between Israel, Gaza, and Iran.
What’s confounding (or not) is how the formerly hawkish Republican Party that once feared commies in woodpiles have truned into Putin’s lapdogs. Perhaps it’s not surprising. Their positions have always been more performance than principle.
Two stories from the New York Times concerning the fate of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s top military commander has issued a bleak assessment of the army’s positions on the eastern front, saying they have “worsened significantly in recent days.”
Russian forces were pushing hard to exploit their growing advantage in manpower and ammunition to break through Ukrainian lines, the commander, Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky, said in a statement over the weekend.
“Despite significant losses, the enemy is increasing his efforts by using new units on armored vehicles, thanks to which he periodically achieves tactical gains,” the general said.
At the same time, Ukraine’s energy ministry told millions of civilians to charge their power banks, get their generators out of storage and “be ready for any scenario” as Ukrainian power plants are damaged or destroyed in devastating Russian airstrikes.
“The Russians fire five times as many artillery shells at the Ukrainians than the Ukrainians are able to fire back,” US European Command head Gen. Christopher Cavoli told a recent House Armed Services Committee meeting.
Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday said he planned this week to advance a long-stalled national security spending package to aid Israel, Ukraine and other American allies, along with a separate bill aimed at mollifying conservatives who have been vehemently opposed to backing Kyiv.
Mr. Johnson’s announcement, coming after he has agonized for weeks over whether and how to advance an infusion of critical aid to Ukraine amid stiff Republican resistance, was the first concrete indication that he had settled on a path forward. It came days after Iran launched a large aerial attack on Israel, amplifying calls for Congress to move quickly to approve the pending aid bill.
Yeah, well, good luck, Mike. Donald Trump admires Vladimir Putin and given the chance would follow him around like a puppy. If Putin wants Ukraine, that’s fine by The Donald.
Anne Applebaum relfects on how swiftly the U.S. came to Israel’s aid over the weekend while Republicans leave Ukraine’s democracy and perhaps its people to another slow death. People there still recall the Holodomor.
Why the difference in reaction? Why did American and European jets scramble to help Israel, but not Ukraine? Why doesn’t Ukraine have enough matériel to defend itself? One difference is the balance of nuclear power. Russia has nuclear weapons, and its propagandists periodically threaten to use them. That has made the U.S. and Europe reluctant to enter the skies over Ukraine. Israel also has nuclear weapons, but that affects the calculus in a different way: It means that the U.S., Europe, and even some Arab states are eager to make sure that Israel is never provoked enough to use them, or indeed to use any serious conventional weapons, against Iran.
A second difference between the two conflicts is that the Republican Party remains staunchly resistant to propaganda coming from the Islamic Republic of Iran. Leading Republicans do not sympathize with the mullahs, do not repeat their talking points, and do not seek to appease them when they make outrageous claims about other countries. That enables the Biden administration to rush to the aid of Israel, because no serious opposition will follow.
But?
By contrast, a part of the Republican Party, including its presidential candidate, does sympathize with the Russian dictatorship, does repeat its talking points, and does seek to appease Russia when it invades and occupies other countries. The absence of bipartisan solidarity around Ukraine means that the Republican congressional leadership has prevented the Biden administration from sending even defensive weapons and ammunition to Ukraine. The Biden administration appears to feel constrained and unable to provide Ukraine with the spontaneous assistance that it just provided to Israel.
Open sympathy for the war aims of the Russian state is rarely stated out loud. Instead, some leading Republicans have begun, in the past few months, to argue that Ukraine should “shift to a defensive war,” to give up any hope of retaining its occupied territory, or else stop fighting altogether. Senator J. D. Vance of Ohio, in a New York Timesessay written in what can only be described as extraordinary bad faith, made exactly this argument just last week. So too, for example, did Republican Representative Eli Crane of Arizona, who has said that military aid for Ukraine “should be totally off the table and replaced with a push for peace talks.”
But Ukraine is fighting a defensive war. Clearly. Once quick to invoke Neville Chamberlain while rattling sabers about foreign tyrants, MAGA Republicans eagerly hope to elect one themselves. Finding common cause with Putin is them being consistent, at least in their fecklessness.
Applebaum notes one of the conclusions the rest of the world will draw:
A part of the Republican Party—one large enough to matter—can be co-opted, lobbied, or purchased outright. Not only can you get it to repeat your propaganda; you can get it to act directly in your interests. This probably doesn’t cost even a fraction of the price of tanks and artillery, and it can be far more effective.
If only we could harness their bad faith as an energy source.
For most on the right, pitching a hissy fit is a ploy to control the political narrative. A little phony sanctimony here, some faux outrage there, and plenty of echo-chamber volume, and Democrats run for cover. Maybe even beg forgiveness for something they did not do. But for Donald Trump, pitching a hissy fit is a way of life to which that Marvelous he is entitled. How dare any lesser being deprive him of his birthright?
Yet, here Trump sits facing justice for falsifying business records and defrauding voters, a mere pleb in an ungilded New York City courtroom where hissy-fitting is not permitted. On Monday, Justice Juan Merchan explained to Trump just how things work in his domain (New York Times):
As part of the pretrial housekeeping, Justice Juan Merchan delivered the so-called Parker warnings on courtroom behavior directly to the defendant, reminding him that he could be jailed if he disrupted the proceedings.
Trump, who earlier seemed to be dozing, muttered, “I do,” when asked if he understood this and the other elements of the warning, which Merchan was delivering to Trump for a second time — now orally — just to make sure it sank in.
Not likely. Before this trial even gets rolling, Merchan must rule on whether Trump should “be held in contempt of court and possibly jailed for three Truth Social posts attacking Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels” in violation of a gag order against Trump intimidating witnesses. Attacking adversaries is something Trump ponders each morning even before spatula-ing on his bronzer and spraying his hair until it hides his baldness. Clearly, his rights are being violated.
Being a criminal defendant cramps Trump’s style like it’s never been cramped before (The New Republic):
The weeks-long proceeding will require Trump to be in court for every session—something Trump himself has challenged as “election interference” on the basis that it will keep him away from the campaign trail—even though he’ll be permitted to campaign every weekend, evening, and Wednesday during the process. If he fails to appear in court, he could face an arrest warrant.
Trump won’t be able to golf on fine spring days. He faces another uncomfortable reality as a criminal defendant (Politico):
Donald Trump is learning a hard lesson: Criminal defendants don’t get to set their own schedules.
Three times on Monday the former president asked Justice Juan Merchan to cut him loose from his hush money trial to attend to other matters — some personal, some political and some legal. Three times the judge responded with, essentially, “eh, we’ll see.”
Could he attend his son Barron’s high school graduation on May 17? I’ll get back to you, Merchan said.
May he skip the trial on April 25 to attend Supreme Court arguments about whether he’s immune from special counsel Jack Smith’s charges for trying to subvert the 2020 election? Not likely, said Merchan.
Can he be exempted from any proceedings that may arise on Wednesdays — when Merchan’s court is typically dark — so he can campaign? Not if the jury is in, the judge told him.
Naturally, Trump reacted badly. The moment he exited the courtroom on Monday, he lied.
“It looks like the judge will not let me go to the graduation of my son who’s worked very, very hard and he is a great student,” Trump told reporters. “It looks like the judge isn’t going to allow me to escape this scam. It’s a scam trial.”
His worshippers were just as naturally faux-outraged, condemning the restrictions as “banana republic tactics.”
As we’ve seen, Trump’s supporters consider the potential that their presidential candidate could be a convicted felon irrelevant. Nothing is disqualifying to their would-be king. And how dare anyone treat him like a commoner?
Kelly Clarkson gets emotional while talking to Hillary Clinton about the Arizona Supreme Court upholding a 1864 abortion ban:
"I have been pregnant twice, hospitalized both times … To make someone go through that? … You don't realize how hard it is." pic.twitter.com/6h6QP0oGRV
I’m sure she had access to the best medical care in a state where her freedoms were preserved. But she went through this and can easily imagine what it would be like if that hadn’t been so. So can millions of other women, including many of the women watching that show.
So Trump came out of the trial today whining like an 8 year old that the big mean judge won’t let him attend Barron’s high school graduation — and all of MAGA world is having a full blown collective mental breakdown over it, calling the judge evil and screaming “Witch Hunt!!!!”
One little problem:
Fact Check: Trump falsely claims judge won’t let him attend son’s high school graduation next month
From CNN’s Marshall Cohen
After leaving court on Monday, former President Donald Trump repeatedly suggested that Judge Juan Merchan would prevent him from attending his son’s high school graduation in May.
“It looks like the judge will not let me go to the graduation of my son,” Trump said, before lamenting “that I can’t go to my son’s graduation.”
Trump’s son Eric Trump ratcheted up the rhetoric by tweeting, “Judge Merchan is truly heartless in not letting a father attend his son’s graduation.”
Facts First: The judge hasn’t ruled yet on Trump’s request to be excused from court so he can attend Barron Trump’s high school graduation.
Criminal defendants like Donald Trump are typically required to attend their case proceedings in person. Trump’s lawyers asked Merchan on Monday about whether their client could be excused for some events, including the graduation and the upcoming arguments in front of the US Supreme Court in one of Trump’s other criminal cases.
While Merchan didn’t let Trump attend next week’s Supreme Court hearing – because Trump has to be in New York for the trial — he said it was too early to rule on the graduation.
Needless to say, most criminal defendants don’t get to attend their children’s events during the trial. Why Trump and his cult think he should is simply daft. But that’s not he point. He lied blatantly when he said that the judge said no. He did not. And I’m sorry to say that the media is failing to report that lie for some reason, accepting Trump’s word that he said no.
Donald Trump will not be given a day off from being present at his criminal hush money trial to attend his son Barron’s high school graduation in Florida, Judge Juan Merchan said on Monday.
The former president had asked for the proceedings to be suspended on Friday, May 17 so he could be at the ceremony, but his request fell flat. If Trump plays hooky and attends the graduation anyway, he will be jailed, Merchan said.
After being told “no,” Trump addressed reporters in the hallway outside the courtroom.
The U.S. telegraphed more or less exactly what Iran was going to do via extremely good intelligence (reminiscent of the lead up to the invasion of Ukraine). It undoubtedly played a huge role bringing Jordan, Saudi Arabia and likely other Arab states into active and public armed action in defense of Israel. It positioned and deployed U.S. anti-ballistic destroyers and aerial assets to itself shoot down roughly a hundred of the estimated 300+ aerial devices Iran launched at Israel. Together, Israel, the U.S. and various allied Arab states took down 99% or more of all those devices. Iran launched a massive aerial bombardment and virtually none of it got through. And now the U.S. has managed to get Israel not to launch an immediate and inevitably escalatory retaliation.
It goes without saying that no administration works on its own. It comes to the game with the world’s most powerful military and major power status. It’s operating with Arab allies who have been gravitating toward a de facto anti-Iran alliance with Israel for years. And yet, anyone who knows anything about foreign or defense policy knows that most of it is all the endless number of things that can wrong and the one or two ways they can go right. Navigating the last week to this point today is a tour de force of international crisis management for the Biden White House.
As Marshall says, we’re not out of the woods yet and anything can happen. But I’m inclined to agree that this was a very hairy moment that does appear to have been successfully “managed” so as not to trigger a regional war. Maybe the Biden administration had little to do with that but according to all the reporting they, in coordination with allies, were able to keep a lid on it for all the reasons Marshall lays out.
Biden’s Israel policy has been intensely frustrating and downright inexplicable when it comes to Gaza. I’m not sure he’ll ever be able to adequately account for America’s position as we have watched that mass suffering unfold. But it’s also the case that he’s dealing with a corrupt monster in Netanyahu who is motivated to keep the war going as long as possible who it’s clear is working hand in glove with the Republicans to sabotage Biden at every turn. This makes the risks of it expanding across the region very acute. That doesn’t excuse anything the US is or isn’t doing, of course. But it does provide some context which we saw displayed this weekend as we were on the precipice of a war that could hurtle out of control very, very quickly. It was a near thing.
