This illustration shows an image of former President Donald Trump next to a phone screen displaying the Truth Social app, in Washington, DC, on February 21, 2022.
Stefani Reynolds | AFP | beautiful pictures
Shares of the blank check company set to take Trump Media and its Truth Society platform plummeted on Wednesday after candidates endorsed by the former president Disappointment in senior midterm election races.
Digital World Acquisition Corp.Shares were down more than 20% on Wednesday morning.
In Pennsylvania, Trump-approved Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz lost to Democratic Lieutenant Colonel John Fetterman, NBC News reported, costing Republicans a Senate seat. In Michigan, Tudor Dixon lost a gubernatorial race and Kristina Karamo failed to become secretary of state. Both are supported by Trump.
The weekend before the election, Trump held large rallies where he read out the list of Republican candidates. He also helped raise hundreds of millions of dollars for Republican candidates during the high-profile Senate campaign.
The protests also serve as a platform for Trump to seem to hone a speech like own bid for the 2024 presidential campaign. In Monday, DWAC’s stock soars before Trump’s hint of another presidential run.
Another presidential run could drive traffic to Trump’s Social Truth platform, as the former president agreed to post exclusively on the social media platform for eight hours before posting it in any other place.
However, shares of DWAC are trading down sharply so far this year as the special-purpose acquirer faces financial and legal challenges as it seeks to merge with Trump Media and Technology. Group, the parent company of Truth Social.
DWAC worked to secure enough shareholder support to extend the deadline for the merger with Trump Media until September 20, 2023, with the vote being pushed back several times. It will take place again on November 22.
The merger also faces a criminal investigation into possible securities violations during discussions that took place between DWAC and Trump Media prior to the announcement of the deal.
The delay caused at least $138 million of the $1 billion in investments to be withdrawn from DWAC. The former president himself has also suggested that the SPAC merger may not be successful. At an October rally in Michigan, Trump told supporters if the funding didn’t go through, he would keep it private.
–CNBC’s Jack Stebbins contributed to this article.
