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Trump Media’s stock price slides after Donald Trump and Kamala Harris debate
Shares of the media business controlled by Donald Trump tumbled Wednesday, with investors appearing to downgrade the former president’s chances of winning the U.S. presidential election following his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump Media & Technology Group has become a financial barometer of sorts for Trump’s electoral prospects given he owns roughly 60% of its shares and is closely identified with Truth Social, the company’s conservative-leaning social media platform.
Trump Media’s stock price fell sharply in morning trade on Wednesday, sliding $2.79, or 15%, to $15.84 — its lowest level since the shares made their public market debut in March. The stock is down 76% from its closing high of $66.22 on March 27, a day after it listed on the Nasdaq Composite index.
By contrast, Trump Media shares — which trade under the ticker symbol “DJT,” Trump’s initials — jumped 8% on June 28 one day after his debate with President Joe Biden, whose rocky performance eventually led him to withdraw from the race.
In an even more dramatic example how the company’s fortunes seem tied to Trump’s fate, Trump Media’s stock soared more than 40% after he survived an assassination attempt on July 13. Polls at the time also gave him the edge in the presidential race.
On paper, DJT’s precipitous drop has lopped billions off Trump’s personal wealth. His stake in Trump Media, once valued at roughly $6 billion when the company’s shares were riding high, is now worth less than $2 billion.
Trump and other company insiders will be free to sell shares once a regulatory lock-up period on Trump Media’s stock expires on September 19. Such restrictions are aimed at stopping major investors from dumping their shares in a company soon after it goes public.
Trump Media in August reported that its second-quarter revenue fell 30% to $836,900 from a year earlier. It also reported losing $16.4 million during the quarter, a narrower shortfall from its $22.8 million loss in the year-ago period, according to a regulatory filing. The company blamed the decline in ad sales on a change in revenue sharing with one of its advertising partners.
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Yellowstone hiker burned when she falls into scalding water near Old Faithful, park officials say
Yellowstone National Park, Wyo. — A New Hampshire woman suffered severe burns on her leg after hiking off-trail in Yellowstone National Park and falling into scalding water in a thermal area near the Old Faithful geyser, park officials said.
The 60-year-old woman from Windsor, New Hampshire, along with her husband and their leashed dog were walking off a designated trail near the Mallard Lake Trailhead on Monday afternoon when she broke through a thin crust over the water and suffered second- and third-degree burns to her lower leg, park officials said. Her husband and the dog weren’t injured.
The woman was flown to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, Idaho for treatment.
National Park Service / Jacob W. Frank
Park visitors are reminded to stay on boardwalks and trails in hydrothermal areas and exercise extreme caution. The ground in those areas is fragile and thin and there’s scalding water just below the surface, park officials said.
Pets are allowed in limited, developed areas of Yellowstone park but are prohibited on boardwalks, hiking trails, in the backcountry and in thermal areas.
The incident is under investigation. The woman’s name wasn’t made public.
This is the first known thermal injury in Yellowstone in 2024, park officials said in a statement. The park had recorded 3.5 million visitors through August this year.
Hot springs have injured and killed more people in Yellowstone National Park than any other natural feature, the National Park Service said. At least 22 people have died from hot spring-related injuries in and around the 3,471-square-mile national park since 1890, park officials have said.