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Investors in Donald Trump’s social media platform Truth Social are feeling the after-effects of Tuesday’s presidential debate against Kamala Harris, with share prices plummeting as the stock market opened on Wednesday.
Shares in the Nasdaq-listed Trump Media and Technology Group Corp were down as much as 17.6 per cent to approximately $15.40 upon opening bell – hours after Trump and Harris faced off on the debate stage in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
It marks a stark contrast to Tuesday morning, which saw an uptick for Trump’s social media company for a second day in row – with a 3.2 percent increase and shares hitting a $18.63 high when markets closed at 4pm.
The Truth Social parent company is seemingly feeling the fallout from the former president being bested by his Democratic rival on Tuesday night, after he provided rambling answers on illegal immigration and the economy, and made blatantly false claims surrounding abortion and the 2020 election.
According to a CNN flash poll, 63 percent of registered voters who tuned in to the ABC News debate believe that Harris “won” the debate.
Things went from bad to worse when global superstar Taylor Swift took to Instagram in the small hours after the debate to announce that she “will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.”
After debuting on Wall Street in March, Trump Media and Technology Group Corp’s stock performance was, in part, mimetic of his prospects for returning to the White House.
Trump Media and Technology Group Corp stock market value currently stands at approximately $3.8bn.
However, strategists say it is unrelated to its business fundamentals, with the company reporting a loss of $16.4m and revenue of $837,000 in June.
Trump is the largest shareholder in Trump Media and Technology Group Corp, holding a roughly 60 percent stake.
The former president’s current stake in the company equates to about $2bn – which has fallen drastically from its onetime $6bn value prior to its merger with a publicly traded shell company in March.
The former president can start selling off his Trump Media and Technology Group Corp shares from September 19 when a lockup provision ends – which prevents company insiders from selling newly issued shares for six months.
