This photo illustration shows a picture of former President Donald Trump next to a phone screen that’s displaying the Truth Social app, in Washington, DC, on February 21, 2022.
Stefani Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images
Shares of the blank-check company set to take Trump Media and its Truth Social platform public fell sharply Wednesday after candidates endorsed by the previous president disenchanted in high-profile midterm election races.
Digital World Acquisition Corp.‘s shares fell greater than 15% on Wednesday afternoon.
In Pennsylvania, Trump-endorsed Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz lost to Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, NBC News reported, costing the Republican Party a Senate seat. In Michigan, Tudor Dixon lost a gubernatorial race and Kristina Karamo lost her bid to be secretary of state. Each were supported by Trump.
The weekend leading into the election, Trump held huge rallies where he read off a listing of Republican candidates. He also helped to lift tons of of tens of millions of dollars for Republican candidates in high-profile Senate campaigns.
The rallies also served as a platform for Trump to seemingly hone a speech that seemed like his own bid for the 2024 presidential campaign. On Monday, shares of DWAC soared at Trump’s hinting of one other presidential run.
One other presidential campaign could drive traffic to Trump’s Truth Social platform, because the ex-president has agreed to post exclusively on the social media platform for eight hours before posting it anywhere else.
Still, DWAC’s shares are trading sharply lower to this point this 12 months because the special purpose acquisition company faces financial and legal challenges because it seeks to merge with Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social.
DWAC has been working to secure enough shareholder support to increase the deadline for the merger with Trump Media until September 2023, with the vote being pushed back multiple times. It’ll happen again on Nov. 22.
The merger also faces a criminal probe into possible securities violations over discussions that took place between DWAC and Trump Media before the deal announcement.
The delays have prompted not less than $138 million of $1 billion in investments to be pulled from DWAC. The ex-president himself has also suggested the SPAC merger may not undergo. At an October rally in Michigan, Trump told supporters if the financing didn’t come through he would take it private.
– CNBC’s Jack Stebbins contributed to this text.
