The candidacy of Donald Trump for president is historic in many respects, none of which are actually respectable. For instance, he is the first candidate to have had three wives, all of whom he cheated on, including with a porn star whose silence he tried to buy for $130,000.00. He is the first to have hosted a sham reality TV game show, but had no experience in government or military service. He is the first to have been adjudicated as a rapist.
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In addition to his continually lengthening rap sheet, Trump is also the first candidate of a major political party (if we can still call the Republican Party that) to be running after having been convicted of 34 felonies, with another 52 charges pending. With that sort of record, the last thing that Trump needs is to engage in more criminal activities that burnish his credentials as an aspiring mob boss.
SEE THIS: WHOA! Did Trump Just Admit that He’s Guilty and is Whining that He Couldn’t Make a Plea Deal?
Nevertheless, this week Trump may have set himself up for some more indictments related to his notoriously unscrupulous business operations. At a press avail staged at his Palos Verdes, California, golf resort, Trump was asked a question about the abysmal performance of his Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) stock that has lost more than three quarters of its value since its March debut on the NASDAQ stock exchange...
Reporter: Trump Media shares (DJT) are down about 75% since their peak in March. Your lockdown provision ends soon. Will you sell your shares?
Trump: No, I’m not selling. I love it.
Driving the point home, Trump later repeated that "I'm not gonna sell my shares. I don't need money" Which makes it all the more curious that he is constantly begging his cult followers for more donations and trying to sell them garbage like Trump-branded sneakers and bibles. But more to the point, Trump has now made a declarative statement that he is not going to sell his shares of TMTG when the lock-up period expires in the next week or so.
The problem with that is that, now, if Trump does sell, he could be in violation of Federal securities fraud laws governing stock manipulation and subject to up to 20 years in prison. It is illegal for company principals and major shareholders to mislead investors as to their future positions in a stock.
The reason for these laws was evident in the movement of the stock following Trump's statement. The stock jumped $4.00 (a 27% increase) after he made this comment. Then it fell back a couple of bucks before the NASDAQ briefly suspended trading. But the effect was obvious to everyone but Trump, who posted a furious complaint on his failing Truth Social website...
"Why is NASDAQ halting the sale of DJT? What right do they have to do this? They have done it twice today. What’s going on? Are they taking orders from the SEC, which, for political reasons, delayed us for an inordinate amount of time, therefore hurting the stock very badly? I am going to hold NASDAQ, and maybe the SEC, liable for doing what they are doing. If they do it again, we will move the stock to the New York Stock Exchange. It is my intention to own this stock for a long period of time. In my opinion, it is THE REAL VOICE OF AMERICA, but it is definitely MY VOICE, and it will be for a long time to come!"
Naturally, Trump was outraged for what he can only perceive as a personal attack on his eminence that involved some imaginary, widespread, "Deep State" conspiracy against him. The temporary delay in trading was a routine response to unusual volatility in the stock. It was not for "an inordinate amount of time." It was for five minutes, twice, to protect investors from potential fraud. But no one will be surprised that Trump resorted to issuing a threat in response to the prudent measures taken as a result of his irresponsible - and likely dishonest - comments.
In the next week or so we will see whether Trump keeps his word not to sell any of his shares. If he does sell, it will not only tank the stock, causing major losses for the remaining shareholders, it will make Trump liable for potential charges of stock manipulation, as well as lawsuits from other shareholders. And all of this is unfolding in the final weeks of the presidential campaign when he is already suffering major political losses.
The troubles that are drowning Trump's website and stock are nothing new. What follows are a few of the financial and legal blows that his failing enterprise has endured...
LOSER Trump’s Truth Social is Well on its Way to Becoming His Next Bankruptcy
Trump Media reported net sales of $836,000, down 30% vs. a year earlier. It was the third straight quarter of roughly $800,000 in revenue, up slightly from Q1’s $770,500. Operating costs soared to $19.5 million vs. $4.9 million a year earlier.
Trump's Truth Social is Shedding Users Like a Miserable Childless Woman's Mangy Cat
The Donald Trump-controlled Truth Social platform recorded its third straight month of declining traffic. Truth Social attracted 2,112,000 unique visitors, down 38% compared to June 2023 when the site generated 3,407,000 unique visitors. It was the platform’s second worst traffic performance since June 2022 when Truth Social had only 1,891,000 unique visitors.
Trump Crime Syndicate: Investors Arrested for Insider Trading in Failing Truth Social Scam
Trump's associates in his truthless, anti-social media venture were arrested and charged with insider trading. Reports indicate that "the three individuals together made more than $22 million in illegal profits."