President-elect Donald J. Trump announced Friday that he does not intend to sell shares of his social media platform, Truth Social.
Trump took to the platform to address false and “probably illegal rumors” that he is interested in selling shares of Trump Media & Technology Group ($DJT), which is Truth Social’s progenitor.
“There are fake, untrue, and probably illegal rumors and/or statements made by, perhaps, market manipulators or short sellers, that I am interested in selling shares of Truth. THOSE RUMORS OR STATEMENTS ARE FALSE. I HAVE NO INTENTION OF SELLING!” he wrote:
“I hereby request that the people who have set off these fake rumors or statements, and who may have done so in the past, be immediately investigated by the appropriate authorities. Truth is an important part of our historic win, and I deeply believe in it,” he added.
Trump published his post at 10:05 a.m. and immediately, Trump Media & Techonolgy Group shares began to rise in value. Shares of $DJT were at $28.76 as of 10:03 a.m. and by 10:12, they were trading near $32.00, according to Yahoo Finance.
Yahoo Finance senior reporter Alexandra Canal notes:
Shares in the company have been on a wild ride over the past week. On Thursday, the stock fell nearly 23% to reverse the gains it enjoyed the day before as Trump clinched victory over Kamala Harris in the presidential election.
With Friday’s moves to the upside, the stock is down just 2% over the past five days, although shares have rallied by more than 60% in the past month.
In September, shares in Trump Media traded at their lowest level since the company’s debut following the expiration of its highly publicized lockup period. The stock eventually bounced back from its lows as both domestic and overseas betting markets began to shift in favor of a Trump victory.
Truth Social served as a key to Trump’s reelection after he was removed from Twitter, an essential mode of communication for Trump for years, in the aftermath of the 2020 election. Truth Social enabled Trump to convey his messages to the American public without having to bypass radical Big Tech and establishment media gatekeepers.
