Ethics watchdog calls plan ‘odious,’ warns of market impact
President Donald Trump’s media company is preparing to sell financial traders the fastest possible access to posts from high-ranking Truth Social accounts — a service that could include the president’s own market-moving announcements. The plan was detailed by the Associated Press.
Trump Media & Technology, the publicly traded parent of Truth Social, intends to sell the chance to see posts from “highest-ranking” accounts milliseconds before others, the AP reported. The company did not respond to emailed questions about whether Trump’s posts would be excluded from the offering.
The president has the most followers on Truth Social, with 12.9 million accounts tracking his account. His posts are often important enough to rattle financial markets, sending prices soaring and plunging within seconds, according to the AP. Until now, presidential policy announcements were considered public property available to all at the same time.
Dylan Hedler-Gaudette, an expert on federal ethics rules at the Project on Government Oversight, told the AP: “It’s odious, selling access to highest bidders on Wall Street. Everything he says has market implications.”
The planned service is attracting attention from traders and ethics experts alike. The AP noted that the arrangement could mean big money for traders and for Trump.