Trump’s Net Worth Sunk by $900 Million After Biden Dropped Out

Barf Bag: Donald Trump's had a hilariously bad two weeks, and also launched Bitcoin sneakers.

By Susan Rinkunas  |  August 2, 2024 | 5:52pm
Photo: Getty Images Politics
Trump’s Net Worth Sunk by $900 Million After Biden Dropped Out

Welcome back to Barf Bag. 

It’s been a tough few weeks for former President Donald Trump: His running mate J.D. Vance is proving to have all the appeal of a damp jock strap, and President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, which has jump-started Democratic enthusiasm. Trump has been banking on winning to help keep him out of jail for his many (alleged) crimes, and as if things couldn’t get worse for him, he also recently lost nearly $1 billion from his net worth.

For those whose brains aren’t poisoned, Trump started a social media platform called Truth Social and he owns about 65% of the shares in its parent company, Trump Media & Technology Group. Some traders invested in TMTG thinking Trump would win the election, but they’ve been dumping the stock ever since Biden dropped out and Harris is polling better than her boss.

CNN reports that the value of the stock has dropped nearly 25% since Biden exited the race on July 21, less than two weeks ago:

The value of Trump’s dominant stake in the conservative social media company stood at just over $4 billion as of July 19, the final trading day before President Joe Biden exited the race and endorsed Harris. It has since dropped to about $3.1 billion.

The selloff comes as national and battleground polls indicate a tight matchup between Trump and Harris. The stock has become a vehicle for Wall Street traders to bet on the prospects of Trump returning to the White House, as Truth Social could become the platform for presidential communications if Trump wins.

In June, Trump Media’s share price briefly popped following Biden’s disastrous debate performance. The stock spiked again last month after Trump survived an attempted assassination attempt in Pennsylvania.

It must be said that this starting valuation is absurd and Harris could still lose to Trump in November (motherfucking Electoral College), but this development is hilarious in the meantime.

In news totally unrelated to Truth Social’s stock price tanking, Trump is now selling Bitcoin-themed sneakers for as much as $500 a pair. There are low- and high-top versions, each emblazoned with the Bitcoin symbol and the phrase “Trump crypto president.”

Grifters gonna grift.

  • Senate Republicans blocked a bill that would have expanded the child tax credit. [NBC News]
  • An “array” of Republican lawmakers and donors called Trump in the 48 hours before he announced his running mate to urge him not to pick Vance because he was untested on the national stage and vocally anti-abortion. [Washington Post]
  • Headline: “Donald Trump says Kamala Harris, who’s married to a Jewish man, ‘doesn’t like Jewish people'” [Associated Press]
  • Addled billionaire and X owner Elon Musk is fully in the can for Trump. He not only posted a deepfake video of Vice President Harris that seemed to violate the platform’s rules on manipulated media, but his new PAC appears to be lying to people in battleground states about registering them to vote. [The Verge/CNBC]
  • A reclusive billionaire named Timothy Mellon has donated $75 million to Trump and $25 million to spoiler candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Huh! [New York Times]
  • Failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake won the Senate primary and will face Rep. Ruben Gallego (D) in November. They’re vying for the seat being vacated by the utter disgrace known as Kyrsten Sinema. [NBC News]
  • And absolute freak Blake Masters lost yet another election in Arizona, this time a GOP primary for a House seat. [Business Insider]

This has been your weekly Barf Bag, thanks for reading!

 
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