Money Grab/Charge for access to the president
Truth Social sells Wall Street early access to Trump’s posts for up to $100,000 a month
On August 1, 2026, Trump Media launched Truth API, charging financial firms $60,000 to $100,000 a month to receive market-moving posts from large Truth Social accounts, including the president’s, before the public sees them. The company said ten customers had signed up. Press-freedom groups sued.
What happened
On August 1, 2026, Trump Media & Technology Group, the company Trump founded and in which he is the largest shareholder, launched Truth API. For up to $100,000 a month, or $60,000 a month on a three-year commitment, subscribers receive posts from ten high-profile Truth Social accounts, including the president’s own, before the public sees them. In high-frequency trading a few milliseconds can be worth millions.
On August 10, after reporting a $238 million quarterly loss, the company said more than ten customers, primarily high-frequency trading firms, had signed up. It called the feed a meaningful revenue source. No revenue figure has been disclosed. Senators Warren and Schiff asked the SEC to investigate.
On August 12, The Intercept and the Freedom of the Press Foundation sued in federal court in Manhattan. They named Trump, aides Natalie Harp and Dan Scavino and the Executive Office of the President, not the company. They asked the court to stop the White House from posting official announcements only on Truth Social.
The suit argues the arrangement violates the First Amendment’s guarantee of equal access to the president’s statements. It also cites the Fifth Amendment’s bar on unreasonable conditions on government benefits. The Intercept and the Freedom of the Press Foundation filed it on August 12, and the lawsuit is pending.
Who benefited
Trump Media, which the president controls and which reported a $238 million quarterly loss, gets a new revenue line. The more than ten trading firms paying for a head start on his posts benefit too. Donald Trump Jr. oversees the company.
Who wanted something
High-frequency trading firms trade on the president’s statements about tariffs, the Iran war and the economy. For them, seeing a market-moving post milliseconds ahead of the public is worth up to $100,000 a month. The company has not named them.
Who lost out
The president posts official government announcements on Truth Social. Anyone who does not pay $60,000 to $100,000 a month, including the journalists who cover him, now sees them later than the institutions that do. You are among them.
Why it matters
A company the president owns is selling advance sight of the president’s own market-moving statements at a price only institutions can pay. The product is a time advantage on official speech, the buyers are firms that trade on it, and the company will not say how much it earns.