Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump walks away during a commercial break as U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris takes notes during a presidential debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 10, 2024.
Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty Images
The share price of Trump media The stock fell more than 14% before the market opened on Wednesday, a day after its majority owner Donald Trump faced criticism from all sides in the presidential debate against Vice President Kamala Harris.
Investing in the Truth Social Maker stock is now seen as a way to bet on the political fate of Trump, the Republican presidential candidate.
The company has acknowledged that its success depends at least in part on Trump’s popularity, and analysts expect its value to rise or fall depending on Trump’s electoral prospects.
The sharp drop in share prices following the debate could be a sign that some of Trump’s supporters were not happy with what they saw on Tuesday night.
Both liberal and conservative political commentators said Harris appeared better prepared, more articulate and more poised on the stage in Philadelphia than Trump, who repeatedly took the bait she threw at him to try to distract him from the issue.
Harris’ team exuded confidence and challenged Trump to another debate immediately after the end of the first one.
Trump said he might not agree to another deal.
Shares of Trump Media, which trades on the Nasdaq as DJT, rose as much as 10 percent in intraday trading on Tuesday, possibly indicating optimism about Trump’s performance in the debate.
The company’s gains on Monday and Tuesday offered a respite after a weeks-long slide that saw shares fall as much as 75 percent since their intraday high in late March, when Trump Media merged with a blank-check company.
This decline coincided with the withdrawal of US President Joe Biden from the presidential race, who supported Harris as his successor at the top of the Democratic candidate list.
In addition, the transaction took place shortly before the date on which Trump and other company insiders can begin selling their shares.
Trump owns nearly 59 percent of the company’s stock, a stake worth nearly $2 billion at Wednesday’s premarket price.
It is unclear whether Trump plans to begin selling his shares when a lock-up period ends on September 19.
