Trump Media Tells SEC a British Short Seller is Sabotaging Their Stock… Data Tells a Scarier Story

In peak Trump fashion, it took less than 48 hours for the launch of Truth Social-branded investment strategies to be shadowed by something far more intriguing.

Trump Media & Technology Group (the parent company of Truth Social) wasted no time straying from its core business (if you can call it that) and marching into asset management. Their latest offering is “Truth Social-branded Separately Managed Accounts,” created with Yorkville America Equities and ITG. The pitch is to invest in “American values.” (Presumably the same values that lost them $400 million last year.)

Even with the not so charming balance sheet, DJT shares jumped nearly 20% on the news… an impressive little caffeine high for a stock that’s still down 37% in 2024.

But then came trouble… a $105 million short bet (revealed not in the U.S., but in Germany’s federal gazette) from Qube Research & Technologies, a British hedge fund that apparently prefers to file trades where the beer is strong and the SEC isn’t looking. Qube’s bet represents 6 million shares, or about 2.5% of DJT’s float. And while that may sound small, it was enough to send Trump Media into freakout mode.

The company quickly fired off a memo to the SEC, demanding an “immediate investigation” into what it described as “suspicious trading” and “potential manipulation.” (I can hear him on the phone now: “This stock better go up bigly, or someone’s going to jail.”)

They didn’t stop there. Trump Media also asked why none of the usual suspects (Nasdaq, NYSE Texas, or the SEC’s favorite intern) could confirm when or where these trades were made. They even floated the possibility that Qube engaged in naked short selling… Wall Street’s version of selling a car you don’t own, then ghosting the buyer before the paperwork clears.

And then came the zinger from Trump Media’s SEC memo: “American equities exchanges should be operated with full transparency and maximum efficiency, not as an opaque free-for-all reminiscent of a third-world casino.”

Which is... rich, coming from a company chaired by a guy who, while serving as President, launched crypto-themed memecoins and once pitched NFTs of himself dressed like a superhero. But hey, when your stock’s circling around in the toilet, it doesn't hurt to try.

Don’t forget, DJT has been parked on Nasdaq’s Regulation SHO Threshold List for over two months… basically a detention for stocks with potential short-sale violations. And short interest is sitting at around 11 million shares. So no, Qube is clearly not the only one shorting the stock.

As for Qube’s response? The firm claims its position “does not reflect a specific view on the fundamentals” (right, as if anyone believes that). And those fundamentals aren’t doing DJT any favors. The company has no meaningful revenue, burned through nearly $401 million last year, and trades like a social media stock that’s losing money (go figure).

But none of that is stopping Trump Media from selling Truth Social-branded investment accounts and demanding SEC investigations in the same breath… as if those two moves make sense side by side on any planet not sponsored by InfoWars. 

And really, this might be the most on-brand timeline imaginable. We now have a sitting U.S. President with an 80% drawdown in his own media company, trying to sell retirement strategies while simultaneously accusing hedge funds of treason. Only in America.

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Stock.News does not have positions in companies mentioned.