Donald Trump's media company is preparing to sell high-speed trading access to Truth Social posts, potentially including the president's own messages, raising fresh concerns about conflicts of interest and market manipulation.
Truth PSI, announced Thursday, would allow Wall Street firms and institutional traders to receive posts from top Truth Social accounts milliseconds before the general public. The service targets traders seeking an edge in betting on stocks, bonds, and interest rates based on early knowledge of market-moving announcements.
The arrangement carries particular weight because Trump himself is Truth Social's most-followed account with 12.9 million followers, followed closely by his sons Don Jr. and Eric. As the largest shareholder of Trump Media and Technology Group, the publicly traded parent company, Trump stands to benefit directly from the service's revenue.
"He's selling expedited, privileged access to information about what he is doing as president," said Kathleen Clark, a government ethics expert at Washington University School of Law. "It's yet more brazen corruption, an improper exploitation of government power to enrich himself."
Trump Media declined to clarify whether the president's posts would be included in the paid offering or to comment on whether the service exploits his office for profit. The company also did not specify pricing for Truth PSI, though a press release indicated it would charge customers for access to "the highest-ranking Truth Social accounts" ahead of other users.
Recent months have seen Trump use the platform to signal major policy decisions and market-sensitive announcements. Posts about Iran tensions, tariff plans, and immigration enforcement operations carry real weight with investors concerned about inflation and Federal Reserve rate decisions. Oil prices particularly influence market behavior when Trump discusses Middle East conflict.
Trump's refusal to divest from his business holdings or place them in blind trusts breaks with decades of presidential precedent. While federal conflict-of-interest laws technically exclude presidents and vice presidents from certain provisions, every commander-in-chief since the rules passed has voluntarily complied as a matter of principle. Trump rejected that tradition.
Trump Media has struggled since the president took office. Stock in the company has plunged over 70% in the past year, wiping out roughly $6 billion in shareholder value. The company closed at $40 per share before Trump's inauguration and hit $9.63 on Thursday following the Truth PSI announcement, a 0.6% gain. Meanwhile, Trump disclosed over $1 billion in annual revenue from his companies and various business ventures.
The company recently replaced longtime CEO Devin Nunes with Kevin McGurn, a seasoned media executive tasked with diversifying revenue. McGurn framed Truth PSI as part of a broader "strategy to monetize proprietary assets" and predicted it would become a "meaningful, ongoing source of revenue." Trump Media said it plans to launch the service next month and has already secured customers.
The venture reflects Trump Media's recent pivot into cryptocurrency, financial services, and even nuclear fusion investments as the company searches for growth opportunities beyond its social media platform.
Author James Rodriguez: "Selling privileged access to the president's own posts to Wall Street traders is corruption wrapped in a press release, and it exposes how badly the guardrails around presidential conflicts of interest have eroded."
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