A Startup Billionaire Named Donald Trump

Donald Trump’s supporters could soon send $3.5 billion his way via the stock exchange. This shows how much part of the American public supports him. Europeans need to think realistically about how they would handle another Trump presidency.

Many people will have thought that this was it for Trump this week, after the presumptive Republican presidential nominee had to admit publicly that he could not meet the posting of a $454 million bond on a penalty issued by a New York court in a civil fraud case. Posting a bond was the only way Trump could pursue an appeal. Trump’s entire election campaign might also be in trouble, or so his opponents hope, at least. Winning an election in the United States depends in no small part on how much a candidate’s campaign can spend on advertising.

But Trump’s supporters might now have found a solution to this problem — one involving the Truth Social media platform Trump founded in 2021. Admittedly, this platform has a relatively small user base compared to others like X and has reported about $40 million in losses since its launch. Nevertheless, Truth Social is about to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange by way of a merger with a shell company already listed to form a special purpose acquisition company, or a SPAC. Trump’s supporters have, moreover, driven up this shell company’s value to around $6 billion by buying shares in recent weeks. If the expected merger goes ahead, Trump’s Truth Social holding would be worth $3.5 billion.*

One Step Closer To Taking the White House

This move would most likely turn Trump into the world’s oldest start-up billionaire. And the windfall would probably also eliminate his most pressing money problems, albeit in the form of lendable stock rather than cash liquidity, taking him one step closer to winning the White House.

In Europe, therefore, it would be wise to consider the implications of a possible Trump 2.0 presidency. This appears to be happening already in the defense and security sphere, but the topic has yet to gain currency in discussions about the economy. Trump’s remarks last week are the best illustration of this. The media criticized him for saying, ambiguously, that if he lost the election, there would be a “bloodbath,” a reference clearly aimed at the U.S. auto industry.

But that doesn’t make the entire speech Trump delivered to auto workers in Ohio any less problematic. Trump declared his intention to impose tariffs of 100% on automobiles manufactured in Mexico by foreign companies. While he may primarily have Chinese manufacturers in his sights, European manufacturers might also enter the picture. It is not only that such a plan would bring down NAFTA** but that it would also heighten the risk of starting a new trade war across the Pacific, as well as on this side of the Atlantic. We Europeans, with our already embattled economies, should be preparing for this scenario.

*Editor’s note: Shareholders in Digital World Acquisition Corporation approved a merger with Trump’s social media company, which owns Truth Social, on March 22.

**Editor’s note: The USMCA or U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement, took effect on July 1, 2020, replacing NAFTA.