Shares of the Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) tanked more than 20 percent on Wednesday, marking the company’s single worst trading day since it first went public in March.
The company’s stock plummeted 22.29 percent and closed at $40.03 per share on Wednesday, compared to its closing price of $51.51 on Tuesday.
The Trump Media & Technology Group is Truth Social’s parent company and trades under the symbol DJT. Its second worst trading day was on April 1, when the stock dropped by 21.5 percent.
Wednesday was an aberration for TMTG, which has been on a tear in recent weeks amid heightened speculation that former President Donald Trump will win the 2024 US election.
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As Newsweek previously reported, the company’s shares have skyrocketed by more than 200 percent in the last month, coinciding with a slew of recent polls showing that Trump’s chances of beating Vice President Kamala Harris in the general election are steadily rising.
Trump and Harris have been locked in a dead heat for weeks; according to 538, Harris is currently slightly ahead of Trump in national polls, with the Democratic nominee at a 48 percent polling average compared to Trump’s 46.7 percent. 538 also put Trump’s chances of winning the election at 51 percent, and Harris’ at 49 percent, which is a virtual tie.
Trump’s net worth took a big hit when his company’s share price tumbled on Wednesday. He currently owns 57.3 percent of shares in the company, and as CNN reported, Trump’s stake in the company was valued at about $5.9 billion as of Tuesday evening. By Wednesday, that number dropped to $4.6 billion.
On Tuesday evening, Trump’s media company was also worth more than the billionaire Elon Musk‘s X holdings, which owns X, formerly known as Twitter.
It’s unclear what caused TMTG’s stock to tumble, and the company hasn’t released any information explaining the dip.
The company’s share price is a key indicator of how the market thinks the election will shake out.
While Harris started out strong when she launched her nascent campaign in July, the Democratic nominee has had a series of fumbles, both on and off the campaign trail, in recent weeks that have helped Trump close the gap between the two.
Trump has also leaned into criticism of the Biden administration’s immigration policy. He and his surrogates have dubbed Harris Biden’s “border czar,” even though, as vice president, she has little control over US immigration policy.
Harris, meanwhile, has doubled down on attacking Trump’s fitness for office, mental acuity, and his pledges to retaliate against his political opponents if he’s elected again.
“This is someone who is unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance, and out for unchecked power,” she said at a rally on the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.
