Anyone who wants to keep up with President Trump's views knows he'll go to a social account of his truth. There, his reasoning includes military strikes in Somalia, tariffs in Canada and Mexico, relations with Russia, causes of fatal aircraft collisions, American ownership in the Gaza Strip, and budget bills before Congress. We've discovered that we have a lot of problems.
For example, on Wednesday, after the first ceasefire meeting between the US and Russia over the war in Ukraine, he adopted the account to attack Ukrainian leaders. “The modestly successful comedian Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke to the United States to spend $350 billion on the United States, and to go out into a war that could not win. “Is Zelenskyy better move fast?” , he has no intention of leaving the country.”
In some respects, such a statement resembles the way Trump transformed Twitter into his megaphone in his first term.
But one major difference stands out. Trump is the largest shareholder of Trump Media & Technology Group and a company that owns a true society and can earn a direct profit if his posts drive traffic to the site. He put Trump's media stocks into a trust controlled by his eldest son, but the president remains a major attraction to the company's signature product, the platform.
His true social post is just an example of the intersection of Trump's official role and Trump's media. On Wednesday, Trump was in an extraordinary move, and he oversees multiple criminal investigations of former Brazilian president Jea Bolsonaro, whom Trump described as one of his “great friends.” He sued.
The lawsuit, which accused the judge of illegally censoring right-wing voices on social media, appeared to be an effort to put pressure on foreign judges when he considered whether to arrest Bolsonaro.
Trump Media is also planning to expand from social media to financial services, opening up another area due to conflicts of interest. The venture includes investment instruments that industry experts require approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Trump has appointed longtime Republican Secretary Paul Atkins to chair the agency. He is waiting for confirmation by the Senate.
With yet another obvious interest, Trump media CEO Devin Nunes, Scott Grave, head of the president's intelligence news advisory board and adviser to the company. was selected as a member of the board of directors.
All this fits a much bold pattern of violations of norms that once dominated conflicts of interest than Trump's first term. The gorgeous Trump hotel near the White House is said to be ethics lawyers and experts.
“The possibility of conflicts of interest has been staked on a much wider range of companies than they were last in the White House, and thus expanding and deepening the terms of office relative to even the first term of the president. “Weiner of the government said. Experts at Brennan Centre for Justice, a nonpartisan think tank focused on democratic issues. Even the appearance of the president's personal interests intertwined with the public interest is “very corroded to our political system,” he said.
White House spokesman Harrison Fields responded to a New York Times question about a possible conflict of interest, saying, “President Trump promises to use all direct communications on Americans.” “I'm doing that.” In addition to his consistent interaction with the press squad, this solidifies his legacy as the most transparent president in history. ”
When asked for comment, a Trump media spokesperson criticized the era and said it was a false insinuation, but did not address questions relating to his company.
Trump's media has not built a bone about his heavily dependent on Trump's fame and popularity. In a submission to the SEC last week, the company said Trump has the discretion to minimize his true social postings that could “have a significant negative impact on the business.”
But that's exactly what he should do to prevent him from mixing his private economic benefits with his formal role, said John Pericero, a government ethics expert at Santa Clara University. “He should use official White House communications when he is talking about government rather than the company he owns, as other presidents have done in the past.”
Trump's communications will also help boost X, owned by Trump's top advisor and special government employee Elon Musk. Trump's true presidential import social messages have been routinely reposted on Musk's social media platforms. This is an obvious effort to enhance traffic with true social, usually after a few hours of intervals.
Trump has around 110 million followers on X, compared to the roughly 9 million Truth Social, which has grown since the November election.
“Through the Truth, X, Instagram or other social media platforms, the President and the White House will continue to talk directly with the American people. It's been a long change since the last four years,” Fields said. Questions about the President's repost regarding X.
Social media companies are loosely regulated by the federal government, but Trump Media's plan to expand into financial services and products puts it more accurately within the federal regulators.
Earlier this month, Trump Media will be offering financial products to be developed with Charles Schwab, one of the nation's largest brokerage companies, and Yorkville Advisor, a small New Jersey investment company. said it plans to invest in a venture. Industry experts said federal regulators can feel pressured to provide positive treatment for these products.
Currently, commissioners may be fired only for causes, but the Trump administration is stepping up legal challenges to the independence of the SEC and various other regulatory bodies. An executive order signed Tuesday called for a White House review of proposed regulations, claiming powers to block spending on efforts that are inconsistent with the president's priorities, and the agency has arrested the laws of the President and Department of Justice. I declare that I must accept powerful interpretations.
The financial services industry is being overseen by the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, the federal watchdog agency that the White House is currently trying to close. Trump calls the agency a hotbed of “waste, fraud and abuse” run by “malicious groups” whose sole purpose is to “destroy people.”
Supporters point to the fact that the department has returned approximately $21 billion to consumers through its enforcement action.
Earlier this month, Russell T. Vought, who ran the management and budget office and appointed the new representative director of the consumer agency, ordered the department's staff and contractors to stop work. A federal judge ordered a temporary suspension of mass layoffs at the department, data purging and funding cutoffs on Friday, but the agency's future is questionable.
Kathleen Clark, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis who specializes in government ethics, said the watchdog is not in place, making it easier for financial services companies to run roughshods to consumers. It's there. “It's no wonder he wants to destroy it,” she said, in light of Trump Media's plans.
Ethics experts also warned that if Trump is elected during the presidential election, a true society could be an easy way to influence him. Foreigners, businesses and others who are trying to shake him can purchase ads about corporate stocks or true society to boost stock values and enrich the Trump family.
“Foreigners no longer have to rent hotel floors to line up President Trump's pockets,” Clark said.
Since Trump created Trump Media in 2021, the company has suffered heavy losses and has struggled to generate revenue from advertising through true social or video streaming. Last year, it reported revenue of $3.6 million. This is 12% lower than last year ($130 million). Much of the cost is clearly related to mergers and emergence as public companies.
Nevertheless, the cash clearly generated mainly through the mergers and sales of shares in Yorkville is $777 million. The market value of $6.6 billion is almost 2,000 times its revenue in 2024.
Trump is not an executive or director of Trump media, but he owns 53% of the company's stake, and is currently valued at around $3.5 billion. He transferred those shares in December to a trust controlled by his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., a member of the company's board of directors.
However, several legal experts said the action would do nothing to address his personal financial interests and his role as president.
“It's completely irrelevant whether it's trustworthy,” Clark said.
Julie Tate contributed to the research.
