Fact Check: Did Donald Trump sell $2.3B in Truth Social stock before his tariffs announcement?
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump caused a stir worldwide last week when he announced his reciprocal tariffs, a move that has been heavily criticized by several economists globally.
Taking a jibe at the MAGA leader's decision, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, "Nowhere on Earth is safe."
Following Trump’s "Liberation Day" tariffs announcement on April 2, a claim emerged online that the 78-year-old sold $2.3 billion worth of his Truth Social stock the day before the announcement. But is there any truth to this? Let us find out below.
Claim: Donald Trump sold $2.3B worth of his Truth Social stock before tariffs announcement
The claim that Donald Trump sold $2.3 billion worth of his Truth Social stock appeared in the form of a screenshot of a social media post and circulated across social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram.
The screenshot had text that read, "Trump sold 2.3 billon worth of his truth social stock the day before he announced the tariffs. And other stock as well. His family did the same. What does that tell everyone?"
Face Check: No evidence to back claim that Donald Trump sold Truth Social stock worth $2.3B
The claim made in the viral posts appears to be false as there is no evidence, such as mandatory public filings, that Donald Trump sold his shares in Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), the parent company of Truth Social, before the tariffs announcement, according to the fact-checking website Snopes.
Moreover, the fact-checking outlet reported that a spokesperson for TMTG said the claim was "false."
Shannon Devine, a partner at MZ North America, an investor relations and corporate communications company representing TMTG, wrote in an email, "There has been no sale of President Trump's shares."
Furthermore, no credible news media outlets had reported on Trump selling his shares so far, according to Snopes.
Origin of the claim
The rumor seemed to originate after a TMTG filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 1, 2025, where TMTG reregistered some shares for sale, including 114,750,000 shares held by the Donald J Trump Revocable Trust, per the fact-checking outlet.
As per the SEC filing, Trump was the "settlor and sole beneficiary" of the Donald J Trump Revocable Trust, and his son, Donald Trump Jr, was the trustee.
The filing registered the shares for "possible sale" but left shareholders in control of when or whether to sell, per Snopes.
Furthermore, several searches on multiple search engines did not show any credible news reports that the sale had gone through.
TMTG claims news reports about SEC filing caused a drop in stock price
On April 2, several news outlets such as Axios and Business Insider reported that the SEC filing would allow Donald Trump to sell TMTG stock worth $2.3 billion.
They also referred to the 114,750,000 shares held by the Donald J Trump Revocable Trust, per Snopes.
After the SEC filing and the news reports, DJT stock on Nasdaq dropped from $20.26 at close on April 1 to $17.09 at close on April 4. Comparatively, the lowest closing price for DJT stock in April 2024 was $22.84 on April 16.
TMTG wrote to Axios and the Financial Times claiming that the outlets' reporting caused an "immediate" and "severe" drop in the company's stock price.
TMTG further wrote that Axios and the Financial Times had misrepresented the S-3 filing as an intent to sell, per Snopes.
