Donald Trump’s scheduled earnout through the parent company of Truth Social presents opportunities for outside interests if he were to defeat Joe Biden and become president again, according to experts.
Trump, who owns more than 50% of Trump Media and Technology Group‘s outstanding shares, is set to see an earnout of over 35 million shares from the holding company over at least the next year that could coincide with him potentially being president, according to a new disclosure filed to the Securities and Exchange Commission. That schedule of financial earnings could lead to either foreign or domestic interests potentially investing in the company as a way to try to pressure and sway Trump while he’s commander in chief, the experts explained.
“I have a number of concerns,” said Virginia Canter, the chief ethics counsel for the watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, D.C.
“Obviously, I would be most concerned about foreign interests that make significant investments in his company with an expectation that they will be given some sort of favored treatment when the need arises — even if it would threaten U.S. national security interests and historical alliances,” Canter said.
A spokesman for Trump said in a statement that the former president will follow ethics guidelines if he were to defeat Biden but did not provide any details.
“When President Trump returns to the White House, he will continue to follow ethics guidelines,” Steven Cheung, Trump’s spokesperson, said in an email.
Trump’s earnings are under the condition that the stock has to hit a certain value within a specific time frame for the former president to see any of his owed shares. He’s also under a lock-up agreement which will disallow him from cashing out his shares for six months, unless he receives a waiver.
If Trump Media and Technology Group’s dollar volume-weighted average price, for instance, equals or exceeds “$12.50 per share for twenty (20) out of any thirty (30) trading days” from the recent closing date to go public and the 18-month anniversary of that agreement, Trump will be “entitled to receive 13,500,000 earnout shares,” according to the disclosure.
The new Trump media stock has been on a wild swing since it began trading. The share price soared as much as 50% when it started trading on the Nasdaq on March 26. Shares were down about 20% Monday.
“Whether or not he receives earnouts, the value of his stock can increase dramatically based on his own acts…
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