The social media platform Truth Social, owned by Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump, experienced a significant drop in stock price on Tuesday. Shares of Trump Media closed nearly 10% lower after a volatile trading session that was temporarily halted due to high volatility. The sudden plunge in stock price occurred despite shares being up by over 13% earlier in the day.
The shares of DJT, Trump Media’s stock, unexpectedly fell more than 6% at the time of the halt. After a five-minute suspension, trading resumed at 2:47 p.m. ET, and the stock continued to decline, eventually closing at $27.06 per share. The session was marked by extreme volatility, with more than 97 million shares changing hands, far exceeding the company’s 30-day average trading volume. This marked the highest trading volume for Trump Media since it went public on Nasdaq in March following a merger with a blank-check firm.
The previous highest trading day was on July 15, shortly after Donald Trump, the majority owner of the company, survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. Many investors in Trump Media are supporters of Trump, buying and selling the stock as a form of support or betting on his electoral success against Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
The decline of the stock reversed a weeks-long surge that coincided with favorable developments for Trump in the presidential race. While certain online betting markets recently shifted towards Trump after showing tight competition or a slight lead for Harris, these platforms use different methodologies than traditional political polling.
According to a regulatory filing from September 5, Trump owns approximately 57% of Trump Media, a stake estimated to be worth around $3 billion. Restrictions that prevented Trump and other insiders from selling their shares expired on September 19. Though Trump had pledged not to sell his shares, it was reported that United Atlantic Ventures, another significant shareholder, sold nearly all of its 11 million shares shortly after the lockup period ended.
In a Truth Social post made early Tuesday morning, Trump expressed his support for the platform, referring to it as “THE REAL VOICE OF AMERICA.”
