Truth Social Feed Drives Trump Media Revenue Surge
Trump Media and Technology Group said revenue in the third quarter increased 205%, with the company attributing the rise primarily to subscriptions for Truth API, a high-speed feed of posts from its social network, Truth Social. The company announced the service in July and said it went live in August. It is aimed at news organizations, financial firms and other services, with monthly prices ranging from $60,000 to $100,000.
The company has described the feed as providing real-time access to posts from prominent Truth Social accounts. Its interim chief executive, Kevin McGurn, said in July that a low-latency feed could benefit high-frequency and algorithmic traders, and acknowledged that markets already react to Truth Social posts. Bloomberg and two Wall Street trading firms reportedly became paying service subscribers.
The arrangement has drawn criticism because President Donald Trump is Truth Social’s most prominent user and his revocable trust owns more than 41% of Trump Media. In July, Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren and Adam Schiff asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to assess whether the service could violate securities laws. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has also condemned it, while a federal lawsuit challenges the service.
Trump told CBS on Sunday that he devotes almost no time to his net worth and said his son watches over his money. The White House has said the president and his family do not engage in conflicts of interest. Trump Media shares closed at $4.06 on November 9, valuing the company at $1.13 billion; the stock was down 69% for the year. The legal challenge and the service’s future revenue prospects remain in question.
Trump Media Turns Presidential Posts Into a Paid Advantage
The Trump media business is making money from a high-speed feed of posts on a platform dominated by the president, with Trump Media saying Truth API subscriptions were the primary driver of a 205% third-quarter revenue increase. Customers, including financial firms and news organizations, are charged $60,000 to $100,000 monthly.
That arrangement raises serious questions about who can profit from access to presidential communications. Trump Media has said the feed provides real-time access to posts from prominent Truth Social accounts. Its interim chief executive, Kevin McGurn, said traders could benefit from a low-latency feed and noted that Truth Social posts already move markets. Bloomberg and two Wall Street trading firms reportedly became paying service subscribers.
Trump’s revocable trust owns more than 41% of Trump Media, and he is Truth Social’s most prominent user. Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren and Adam Schiff asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to examine whether the service could violate securities laws. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has called it corrupt, and a federal lawsuit challenges the service.
The White House says the president and his family do not engage in conflicts of interest. Trump told CBS he devotes almost no time to his net worth and said his son watches over his money. Those assurances do not resolve the central concern: a company in which the president has a major financial stake is charging for access to a feed that its own leadership says can matter to markets.
Truth API Faces Political Attacks Despite Trump Media’s Growth
Trump Media says a new subscription service helped produce a 205% increase in third-quarter revenue, but Democratic critics are already framing Truth API as proof of wrongdoing. The service sells a high-speed feed of Truth Social posts to news organizations, financial firms and other customers for $60,000 to $100,000 a month.
The company announced the offering in July and said it went live in August. Interim chief executive Kevin McGurn said firms using high-frequency or algorithmic trading could benefit from a low-latency, machine-readable feed. Bloomberg and two Wall Street trading firms reportedly became paying service subscribers. The company has described the product as real-time access to posts from prominent accounts.
Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren and Adam Schiff asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to assess whether the arrangement might violate securities laws. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has attacked it as corrupt, and a federal lawsuit challenges the service. Their accusations are not findings that the company has broken the law.
President Donald Trump’s revocable trust owns more than 41% of Trump Media, and Trump is Truth Social’s most prominent user. The White House has said neither the president nor his family engages in conflicts of interest. Trump told CBS that his son watches over his money. The dispute now turns in part on the pending legal challenge and whether the subscription business can sustain its revenue.
Reported by NBC News, MSNBC, The New Republic, Mother Jones, Raw Story, Daily Kos.
