Trump Media pivots to Truth Social with paid early access to Trump posts

Newyork,UPDATED: Aug 11, 2026 09:50 IST

Trump Media & Technology Group said on Monday that it will scale back much of its push into new businesses and refocus on its original media operations, centred on Truth Social. As part of that shift, the company is launching a paid service that gives subscribers faster access to President Donald Trump's posts, a move that has drawn ethical concerns from Democrats and government watchdogs.

Speaking on a conference call with investors, the company's new chief executive Kevin McGurn said the new offering, called Truth API, had already attracted several high-speed trading firms. The company said the service could sharply lift revenue at a time when its shares have fallen steeply and losses have continued to mount.

Trump launched Truth Social after he was removed from Twitter and Facebook. More than three years after both platforms reinstated him, the company has had to change course. Instead of working as a "free speech" forum, it now operates more like a "hear it here first" platform, where users get announcements from the president on issues ranging from the Iran war and tariffs to the future of the US central bank.

As the parent company's stock kept falling, Trump Media moved into unrelated sectors including online betting, finance, investment funds, buying and holding bitcoin, and nuclear energy. It is now moving back to its original business, but with a new paid service that offers quicker access to the president's posts.

McGurn told investors that each of the early trading-firm clients was paying between USD 60,000 and USD 100,000 a month. "We're in the early innings," he said, adding that the possible market included data centre companies, news organisations and developers of large language models, not just traders, and that he was speaking to all of them.

McGurn rejected criticism that the service creates an ethical problem, saying other social media companies offer similar products. The White House has also denied that there are conflicts between Trump the president and Trump the businessman, despite concerns that private business interests could overlap with public policy.

Traders on Wall Street have signed up because faster access to White House news can translate into profit. The company said 10 customers had joined in the week since the service began. At those rates, the service could bring in roughly USD 7 million to USD 12 million a year, about two to three times the revenue the company reported across all its businesses last year.

Trump Media, however, needs far more money. It has lost more than USD 1 billion since the start of last year. Its earnings report for the three months ended June 30, released on Monday, showed another loss of USD 238 million, although much of that came from paper losses linked to the falling value of its bitcoin holdings.

The company is also under pressure from a series of deadlines. It relies in part on USD 1 billion raised from lenders through a special arrangement that lets them seek repayment early. Those lenders can require the company to buy back their convertible notes on November 30, which is 18 months before the loans are due to mature.

That date falls just after the November midterm elections, a result that could matter if Democrats win control of Congress. Several current lawmakers, including Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, have said they would pursue formal investigations into Trump's businesses, including Trump Media, if they take over.

A longer-term issue is what happens after Trump's presidency ends. Trump remains the platform's main attraction, but it is unclear how many users will continue reading his posts when he leaves office. It is also unclear why traders would keep paying as much as USD 1.2 million a year for early access if he is no longer in a position to post market-moving statements, such as saying the Strait of Hormuz is open or that he is raising tariffs on dozens of countries.

Truth API also carries posts from other popular accounts on the platform, but none match Trump's reach. He has 13 million followers, while Donald Trump Jr has 7.5 million. Other widely followed users include administration figures such as FBI Director Kash Patel and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, though their appeal could also weaken once they leave office.

The company has chosen to keep one other line of business: nuclear fusion. The technology is still not commercially available, but it has received support from the current administration. In June, the US Department of Energy released a "road map" promising government funding to speed up nuclear fusion and calling for public-private partnerships.

Even with that support, investors remain unconvinced about the company's prospects. After trading at about USD 62 soon after listing in 2024, the stock has dropped into single digits, wiping out billions of dollars in market value. On Monday, it fell another 8 per cent to USD 9.39 a share, as the company tried to reassure investors that a return to its media roots could revive the business.

With PTI Inputs

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