President Trump’s plan to offer early access to his Truth Social posts in exchange for huge monthly fees has not landed well with Wall Street or the GOP.
Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind Truth Social, unveiled the plans last week. Executives at the social media company allegedly discussed charging Wall Street traders and investment firms as much as $100,000 for faster access to the president’s posts, sources told Reuters.
A discounted plan of $60,000 a month in exchange for signing up for three years was also discussed.
“Think it through. You are talking about the ability to move markets when you’re advancing information,” GOP Senator Lisa Murkowski told The Hill, criticizing the idea that “everything comes down to pay for play.”
Murkowski went on to brand the plans as “wild.”
Senator Thom Tillis referenced his own background growing up in a trailer park when speaking to the same publication.
“I’m thinking about people that are going to be voting in this election that grew up like me,” he said. “Sooner or later you start looking at that, and that is not a world you represent.”
Shannon Devine, a spokesperson for TMTG, told The Hill that politicians were “falsely” accusing the company of anti-free market behavior and suggested that there was a “coordinated effort to harm a publicly traded company.”
The publication suggested that her statement was aimed at a letter penned by Democratic Senator Mark Warner, and given to financial institutions including the Bank Policy Institute and the Security Industry Financial Markets Association.
In his letter, Warner warned that the proposal was a “serious risk to market integrity” and accused it of creating a “clear and unacceptable pathway for corruption.”
However, concern about the scheme extends beyond Capitol Hill. Even Wall Street executives have criticized the plans.
“His tweets move markets so we all need to pay up,” a macro hedge fund executive told The Financial Times. “It’s so bad that nothing surprises me in that sense anymore.”
The plans were also described as a “terrible look” and a “huge misuse of power” by a crypto trader.
Truth Social was launched in February 2022, after Trump was banned from Twitter and suspended from Facebook following the January 6 Capitol riots.
According to a 2024 regulatory filing, the then-President Elect Donald Trump transferred his $4 billion stake in TMTG to his son, Donald Trump Jr. A separate filing stated that Trump Jr will have “sole voting and investment power” over his majority stake in the company.
Trump, though, has been criticized for reportedly reaping financial rewards while in office. A federal filing revealed that he generated nearly $1.2 billion from his cryptocurrency business last year.
The president has also licensed his name to a range of products, including Bibles and $100,000 watches during the election, and has launched lawsuits against several government departments and agencies.
The Independent has contacted TMTG for comment.
