Critics say the move creates a new way for US President Donald Trump to cash-in on his office
US President Donald Trump’s social network Truth Social will start selling investors early access to posts from prominent accounts, most likely including his own, the holding company has announced.
Critics argue that the move could create an unprecedented new way for the president to profit from his office, given his family controls Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), the platform’s publicly traded corporate parent.
The move was announced on Thursday, when TMTG unveiled Truth API, a business-to-business data feed providing “real-time access to posts from the highest-ranking Truth Social accounts.”
What is on offer?
The service will give paying institutional clients and algorithmic trading firms machine-readable access to posts from top Truth Social accounts “in milliseconds,” rather than relying on manual monitoring, TMTG said. The feed will offer 24/7 coverage and an archive of posts dating back to 2022. It is scheduled to launch on August 1, though the company did not disclose pricing.
“Markets already move on Truth Social posts. Truth API delivers a direct, licensed, real-time feed of the platform’s most market-moving Truths,” said Kevin McGurn, Interim Chief Executive Officer of TMTG. “We expect Truth API to become a meaningful, ongoing source of revenue for the company, creating lasting value for shareholders.”
Trump founded TMTG in 2021 after many major social media platforms suspended his accounts following the January 6 Capitol protests. He has extensively used Truth Social to announce major policy decisions with posts that have repeatedly moved financial markets – such as his April 9, 2025 post announcing a 90-day pause on many tariffs, which sent Wall Street indices sharply higher within minutes.
Why is it different?
While other platforms also sell premium data access, critics argue Truth Social’s move is different because it potentially allows Trump to monetize official presidential communications.
While the announcement does not explicitly say that the mechanism will cover Trump’s own posts, the president is the platform’s most-followed account with 12.9 million followers, trailed by his sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, and the White House. Critics argue that as the largest shareholder of TMTG, he stands to benefit directly from the new service.
“He’s selling expedited, privileged access to information about what he is doing as president,” Kathleen Clark of the Washington University School of Law and an expert in government conflict-of-interest rules told AP. “It’s yet more brazen corruption, an improper exploitation of government power to enrich himself.”
Conflict-of-interest controversy
US conflict-of-interest laws bar executive branch officials from participating in government matters in which they have a financial interest. The president and vice president, however, are exempt.
Ethics experts note, however, that previous presidents generally divested holdings that posed conflicts and avoided monetizing official communications. Trump, in contrast, has retained his stake in TMTG, along with major crypto and real estate holdings. Recent financial disclosures show that his 2025 income exceeded $2.2 billion.
Multiple cases this year drew attention after well-timed trades ahead of political announcements generated huge profits. The Financial Times reported in March that oil traders placed more than $500 million in bets minutes before Trump announced “productive” talks with Iran at the height of the war. The timing prompted questions over who may have benefited, though the White House denied any official profited from insider knowledge.
Separately, market commentary platform The Kobeissi Letter claimed in May that a massive crude oil position placed shortly before reports of a possible US-Iran peace deal generated about $125 million in little more than an hour, again fueling insider trading speculation.
Also on Thursday, CNN reported that Trump himself may have timed investments around his Truth Social posts. The outlet said after comparing Trump’s posts with stock trades disclosed in his annual financial filings, it found at least 44 purchases involving 21 companies, including Nvidia, Tesla, Boeing, RTX, and Northrop Grumman, within a week before Trump posted messages about the companies, their executives, or products.
A Trump Organization spokesperson insisted in a statement that “neither President Trump, his family, nor The Trump Organization plays any role in selecting, directing, or approving specific investments.” Earlier, Trump also dismissed concerns, telling reporters last week that outside parties make his investment decisions and that his gains merely reflect a strong stock market.
(RT.com)
