Trump Media shares slide with DJT sale restrictions set to lift

PUBLISHED THU, SEP 19 20249:30 AM EDTUPDATED 47 MIN AGO

Kevin Breuninger @KEVINWILLIAMB

KEY POINTS

• Shares of Trump Media, which trades as DJT on the Nasdaq, fell.

• Former President Donald Trump is expected to soon be able to start selling his nearly $2 billion stake in the company.

• Trump and other early investors have been barred from selling their shares under a lockup agreement that took effect when the company went public in March.

Shares of Trump Media fell Thursday, just hours before former President Donald Trump is expected to be able to start selling his nearly $2 billion stake in the owner of social media platform Truth Social. The company, which trades as DJT on the Nasdaq, was down more than 4% in midday trading.

Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, owns nearly 57% of DJT’s outstanding shares. That stake at Thursday morning’s price was worth about $1.7 billion — almost half of Trump’s estimated on-paper net worth.

Trump Media (DJT) Stock Price

But Trump, and other early investors, have been barred from selling their shares under a lockup agreement that took effect when the company went public following a merger with a blank-check firm in late March.Those restrictions are set to expire as soon as Thursday afternoon.

Trump Media has acknowledged in regulatory filings that the end of the lockup could spur large sales of the company’s stock, and even the market’s perception of a sell-off could drive down DJT’s stock price. Trump, the majority shareholder, said Friday that he has no plans to sell his stake. His assurance sent the stock soaring higher, though it has since given up those gains.

Other company insiders, however, might try to cash in as soon as they get a chance to do so. The company’s fortunes are tied up with those of Trump, whose use of Truth Social makes him a main draw to the platform.

After soaring in its public trading debut, Trump Media has suffered a monthslong stock slump that has coincided with Trump’s tumultuous presidential campaign against Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.

The decline has shaved billions of dollars off Trump Media’s market value, bringing it closer in line with what some analysts say the company is actually worth.

Trump Media’s earnings reports show it has lost around $344 million on revenue of less than $2 million in the first half of the year. Its revenue depends entirely on ad sales, but its lone product, Truth Social, generates just a fraction of the user base of more established social media sites. Yet the company still boasts a market capitalization of around $3 billion,as some retail investors appear to be buying into it as a way to support Trump or bet on his political standing.

After Trump narrowly survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in July, Trump Media shares skyrocketed. But the stock began to fall later that month, around the time Harris replaced President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee and quickly narrowed Trump’s lead in the polls.

The stock rose again in advance of the Sept. 10 presidential debate, which some saw as a bigger risk for Harris than Trump. But after Trump’s performance drew poor reviews — both in the polls and from a number of conservative commentators — DJT shares plummeted to a new post-merger low.

With the lockup expiration looming, Trump Media has sought an injunction that would block ARC Global, a sponsor of the merger that took the company public, from immediately selling its shares.A judge in Florida said Wednesday that he would not grant an injunction.

A Delaware judge had ruled Monday that Trump Media breached an agreement with ARC and must grant the investor a larger share of its stock.

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/19/djt-trump-media-stock-lockup.html

Stunning New Survey Suggests Kamala Harris Favorability Is 25 Points Underwater with Independents

Isaac Schorr Sep 18th, 2024, 8:16 am

New polling from Gallup suggests that Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is fighting a losing battle with independent voters.

According to the new survey of 1,007 American adults conducted between September 3 and 15, both Harris and Republican nominee Donald Trump’s favorability ratings are underwater. Forty-six percent of respondents view Trump favorably, and 53% view him unfavorably. Harris is viewed favorably by 44% and unfavorably by 54%.

As one might expect, Trump’s favorability rating is extraordinarily high with Republicans and extraordinarily low with Democrats, while the opposite is true for Harris.

But whileboth candidates are underwater with independents, Harris is struggling much more so than Trump. Forty-four percent view Trump favorably, and 53% view him unfavorably, so the former president is doing even worse with independents than he is with the general population.

Yet those numbers take on a different meaning when compared withHarris’s. Just 35% of independents view the vice president favorably, while 60% view her unfavorably, meaning that she is 25 points underwater with the key demographic.

While the results should not come as welcome news to the Harris campaign, there is a silver lining. Harris’s running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, is much more popular than Trump’s, Senator JD Vance (R-OH). Vance is underwater by 11 points with all respondents (36%-47%) and 18 points with independents. Walz, on the other hand, has a positive favorable rating with the former group (41%-40%) and is close to having the same with independents (37%-40%).

https://www.mediaite.com/news/stunning-new-survey-suggests-kamala-harris-favorability-is-25-points-underwater-with-independents/

>>21620866 At the end of her latest interview, Kamala virtually BOLTED from the roomPN

It only gets worse for Harris from here. Did you see the end of the Black Journalists video, not only did she bolt out of the place,but listen for clapping at the end, there was hardly anyone clapping, that was the most telling, to me.It sounded like 10 people clapping briefly.

People are getting tired and bored with her!

Robinson under pressure to withdraw from gubernatorial race

SEPTEMBER 19, 2024 (This sounds like a set up and really fishy, but why is JD and Trump Org trying to get him to withdraw?)

North Carolina Republicans are bracing Thursday morning as word spreads about a damning news story looming regarding Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson.

Sources with direct knowledge have spoken with Carolina Journal on the condition of anonymity and said that Robinson is under pressure from staff and members of theTrump campaign to withdraw from the governor’s race due to the nature of the story, which they say involves activity on adult websites in 2000s.

According to sources,Robinson has resisted withdrawing and privately denies the story.

In an email to Carolina Journal shortly after this story posted, Michael Lonergan, communications director for theMark Robinson for Governor campaign wrote, “Whomever your sources are here, it is complete fiction.”

Thursday evening is the state deadline to withdraw from the race. The deadline to remove Robinson’s name from the ballot already has passed. There are just four weeks to go until early voting, and absentee ballots are due to go in the mail Friday.

According to the sources, the campaign of Attorney General Josh Stein, Robinson’s opponent in the race for North Carolina’s Executive Mansion, leaked the story to CNN and local Raleigh news outlet, WRAL. It is expected to hit airwaves later on Thursday.

Also according to the anonymous source, earlier this week leaders in the Trump campaign privately told Robinson that he was not welcome at rallies for Trump or vice presidential candidate JD Vance. He was slated to speak at the Vance appearance on Wednesday, but his office announced that Robinson had tested positive for COVID.

WHO WOULD BE LISTED ON YOUR BALLOT?

Should Robinson decide to withdraw from the race, something that Carolina Journal’s sources say he is opposed to at the moment, the North Carolina Republican Party Executive Committee would need to choose a replacement candidate for November.

According to elections expert Andy Jackson of the John Locke Foundation’s Civitas Center for Public Integrity, the deadline to change the name on the ballot has passed under state law. Once the North Carolina State Board of Elections mails the absentee, overseas, and military ballots on Friday, changing the names could run afoul of the 14th Amendment. Instead, any votes Robinson receives on Nov. 5 would go to the replacement candidate chosen by the NCGOP.

“In other instances when, say a candidate dies before Election Day, the candidate’s name remains on the ballot and the candidate’s widow or widower would get the votes and serve the term,” said Jackson.

Robinson won the Republican primary in March, beating out NC State Treasurer Dale Folwell and businessman Bill Graham.

https://www.carolinajournal.com/robinson-under-pressure-to-withdraw-from-gubernatorial-race/