Voters on Tuesday delivered a stunning rebuke to the Trump agenda, but markets produced a referendum of their own — on the president’s eponymous stock.
Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) stock, the home of the president’s Truth Social platform, plunged over 12% during morning trading Wednesday. The ticker has served as a bellwether of the president’s power, reflecting his outsized influence over all things politics, and his ability to attract capital and attention.
But the election results have shifted the balance of power. Democratic victories in battleground states and formerly Trump-voting districts have shattered the GOP’s trifecta hold on Washington. And they have called into question Trump’s own standing and effectiveness as party leader, chief executive, and business mogul.
The sudden drop in Trump Media suggests an answer to at least one of those questions: What happens to the company once Trump is out of power? The simplest response from Wall Street is that it will be worth a lot less.
But Trump Media’s decline didn’t begin on Election Day. Shares of the company are down nearly 60% for the year, as traffic on its marquee social media platform has waned. And, as the election made clear, the once MAGA-dominated political environment has changed.
Trump Media’s plunge also gets at broader issues concerning the president’s business relationships and what his critics describe as unethical financial entanglements.
Earlier this year, for instance, the company announced it would launch a tool that would give Wall Street clients faster access to Trump’s Truth Social posts, where he often announces new policies and generates market-moving headlines.
Entering the lame-duck phase of his presidency means Trump has less power to steer policy, in turn making access to his preferred platform less sought-after.
Wall Street is also reacting to what will be a sudden shift in review authority come early next year. The Democratic takeover gives the president’s opponents new avenues to launch investigations and apply fresh oversight to his business dealings.
Follow Hamza Shaban on X @hshaban.
Source: finance.yahoo.com
