MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle delved into the potential financial gains for former President Donald Trump through his Truth Social platform in a discussion with New York Times reporter Susanne Craig and NBC News financial reporter Brian Schwartz.
Ruhle introduced the segment by highlighting the upcoming trading debut of the Trump media stock on the Nasdaq and its potential impact on Trump’s financial obligations, notably his $175 million bond for a civil fraud penalty.
I mean, these are things that, you know, this is what happens when you go public. And this has happened before with Donald Trump, with a variety of other companies. He’s, you know, tried doing stuff in the stock market before, and things did not go so well at that time — years ago. So the reality is, is that there’s still a long way to go to figure out how much the company is worth and what exactly is it going to do, and what’s it going to mean for shareholders.
Craig expressed that while the stock’s fluctuations were expected, its current value presents an attractive opportunity for Trump, especially given his significant stake in the company. She noted the importance of Trump’s board granting him a waiver to sell his stock.
Ruhle emphasized that the stock’s value is tied to Trump’s brand rather than its fundamentals, questioning how it could be worth billions based on current metrics. Schwartz echoed this sentiment, highlighting the uncertainty surrounding the stock’s performance and the need for transparency as the company goes public.
Meanwhile, you know, he keeps on putting themselves on what appears to be apparent coincidences in a variety of different things involved in the Republican Party and Donald Trump. Part of those millions that he’s been given to the GOP have gone to a group called the club for growth. Just actively pushing back on this TikTok bill. I you know, he’s an investor into ByteDance, meanwhile, the parent company of TikTok.
And that, you know, at the same time, you know, Susquehanna International in December was at that point an investor into Digital World Acquisition, the company that really helped the Trump media business to become public. So it seems to be these strange coincidences that keep on coming up. When we talk to people near him, they always push back and they say, you know, Jeff Yass isn’t interested in dealing with these types of things. He’s more focused on education-related matters. But again, these things keep coming up. And at the very least it’s kind of odd. And it seems to be continuing a coincidence for a person who is giving millions of dollars to the Republican Party at this very time.
The conversation then shifted to Jeff Yass, a prominent investor linked to the SPAC vehicle taking Trump’s company public. Schwartz detailed Yass’s significant contributions to Republican politics and his investments in TikTok and Digital World Acquisition, raising questions about potential conflicts of interest.
Despite assertions from Yass’s associates that he focuses on education-related matters, Schwartz noted the recurring coincidences surrounding Yass’s involvement in Republican affairs and Trump-related ventures, prompting further scrutiny into his motivations.
