Trump is selling off his market gains

From 1 August, users will be able to pay to read the posts that President Donald Trump publishes on his Truth Social platform a few milliseconds before anyone else. The announcement was made on Thursday by Trump Media & Technology Group, the president’s company that controls Truth Social, and the service will be called "Truth API", whilst pricing details remain unknown. On Truth Social, Trump announces his decisions, promotes the shares of certain companies, or suggests when to buy. And those posts move the markets.

For example, in April 2025, four hours before suspending for 90 days the tariffs that had caused the stock markets to plummet, Trump wrote that it was “a great time to buy”: the S&P 500 index closed up 9.5 per cent. This year, the focus has shifted to the war with Iran, and the game of announcements has centred on oil trading. For those trading at the highest levels – the so-called institutional investors – a lead of just a few milliseconds can mean huge profits. The asymmetry that will arise when only a select few receive advance notice from the world’s most powerful man is obvious, but the company makes no secret of it: “The markets are already moving on Truth Social posts,” said interim CEO Kevin McGurn, promising shareholders “a sustainable source of revenue”.

As soon as the news broke, a barrage of criticism ensued, ranging from Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, who spoke of “blatant corruption”, to the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom. Because the issue is not the what, or the how, but who publishes that information. Selling preferential access to one’s own data is common practice – even rival platforms do it – but since 2000 the SEC (the US equivalent of Consob) has required listed companies to comply with the Fair Disclosure Regulation, which prohibits the selective disclosure of material information to other financial operators; however, this does not apply to the President. The result: a company owned by Trump will profit from the communications that Trump decides when and how to release.