Successful Businessman
Other than “He tells it like it is”, Trumpies’ reason for supporting Donnie is “He’s a successful businessman, not a politician.”
Successful? Maybe so, but Donnie is definitely unique. No one else ran two Atlantic City casinos into the ground. A casino next to an abandoned steel mill in Bethlehem, PA prospered while Donnie’s two next to the sand and surf on the Jersey shore failed. Way to go, Donnie.
That Successful Businessman currently holds 114 million shares of Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of social media platform, Truth Social. Six months ago when TM&T went public, those shares were worth a whopping $6 billion. Many of the same folks who put their hard-earned cash into Trump sneakers, Bibles, and trading cards bought Trump stock as well.
TM&T’s future was bright. Donnie was beating the pants off of Joe Biden in the polls. Truth Social would likely be the sole social media platform for the President of the US. Institutional investors bought in to that theory and purchased TM&T stock.
The problem with being a publicly-traded company is that quarterly financial statements must be issued. TM&T’s statements were not great. In its first quarter, its revenue was a mere $1 million while its expenses were $17 million. Worse yet, Donnie was now losing to Kamala in the polls. Institutional investors bailed out. TM&T’s stock price plummeted. Donnie’s $6 billion worth was now worth only $2 billion.
A TM&T spokesperson pooh-poohed the naysayers. “We are rapidly building out our platform while maintaining a strong balance sheet. We recently launched a video streaming service.” Also, don’t worry about that iceberg. The Titanic is unsinkable.
A truly Successful Businessman would have seen the iceberg coming and joined in the sell-off of TM&T stock last month. But Donnie can’t do that. In order to receive his 114 million shares of stock, Donnie had to agree to a Lockup Clause forbidding him from selling any of it before September 20, 2024.
Meanwhile, Donnie owes the state of New York $454 million in that civil fraud case and also owes E Jean Carroll $83 million, both currently under appeal and eventually due whether he wins in November or not.
Successful Businessmen are also cold-hearted. Will Donnie sell of his TM&T stock, sink the company, fire its employees and screw over its investors? Stay tuned.
By Ed Dufton