Trump's Financial Train Wreck Is So Much More Interesting Than His Campaign

From a shame-inducing Truth Social SEC filing to hocking himself to L.A.'s leading repo man, it's been an exciting week And it's still only Tuesday!

The more we learn about Donald Trump’s social-media platform, Truth Social, the more of an empty facade it seems. Today Bloomberg reported that Trump is suing the company’s co-founders, Andy Litinsky and Wes Moss, by way of countering their lawsuit arguing that Truth Social diluted their 8.6 percent stake in the company. (At one point Trump allegedly told Litinsky to give some shares to Melania; after Litinsky failed to do so, he was fired.) Trump’s lawsuit argues that Litinsky and Moss don’t deserve any stake in the company at all. The lawsuit was actually filed last month, but we’re hearing about it now because, well, it’s hard to keep track of all this guy’s lawsuits.

By the time these lawsuits get resolved there may be no company to fight over. An SEC filing Monday revealed that Truth Social lost $58 million last year; that it brought in only $4 million in revenues; and that it “expects to continue to incur operating losses and negative cash flows from operating activities for the foreseeable future.” The stock price promptly fell 21 percent. On Tuesday the stock price fell further to about $48 per share before stabilizing at $51.60 per share, still well below last week’s $70 per share. If the stock’s value reflected anything resembling the company’s actual value, it would be trading at about $2 per share. In my Tuesday morning New Republic piece, I explain that Truth Social is basically a branding exercise off which Trump is trying to earn a fast buck, as with his branded vodka, airline shuttle, steak, university, and, most recently, $60 bible. You can read it here.

I also filed a Tuesday afternoon New Republic piece, about Trump putting himself in hock to the repo man to meet bond in New York. You can read that here.