US president has often been accused of buying and selling authorities affect for improper monetary acquire.
Revealed On 18 Jul 2026
United States President Donald Trump’s social media firm is reportedly contemplating charging a $100,00 month-to-month payment for precedence entry to his social media posts.
However that prospect has raised main moral considerations, with critics denouncing the thought as a barrier to authorities transparency — and a way for Trump to revenue from the presidency.
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The information company Reuters indicated on Friday that Trump Media and Know-how Group, which owns the web site Truth Social, has mentioned charging monetary merchants and companies a steep payment for early entry to Trump’s posts.
A lower-tier payment of $60,000 a month was additionally reportedly mentioned for companies that join a three-year plan. The British newspaper The Monetary Occasions additionally reported related particulars.
As president of one of many world’s largest economies, Trump has the facility to maneuver markets together with his statements. Economists say his remarks on social media — about new insurance policies like tariffs or worldwide conflicts — can spur adjustments in world monetary prospects.
However pushback to the Fact Social payment proposal was swift. Trump has lengthy garnered criticism for leveraging the facility of his office for personal benefit, and ethics consultants characterised any payment as a menace to the functioning of US democracy.
“He’s promoting expedited, privileged entry to details about what he’s doing as president,” mentioned Kathleen Clark, an knowledgeable in conflict-of-interest guidelines at Washington College Faculty of Legislation.
She advised The Related Press information company, “It’s but extra brazen corruption, an improper exploitation of presidency energy to complement himself.”
Trump has made frequent use of social media throughout his time in workplace. Throughout his first time period, he was an avid consumer on the social media platform Twitter, now X.
However his false claims in regards to the 2020 presidential election — and the following assault on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 — prompted a number of platforms to droop his account.
Trump responded by investing in his personal media firm as an alternative, and he owns a majority stake within the Trump Media and Know-how Group.
Fact Social is one among its signature merchandise, and Trump has used the social media platform nearly completely since his 2021 departure from Twitter.
He often turns to Fact Social to announce every part from assaults on Iran to adjustments in commerce coverage.
In the course of the US-Israel warfare on Iran, Trump’s social media posts often prompted dramatic swings within the world vitality markets, which suffered as Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz to business site visitors.
A social media submit from the president saying a 90-day pause on new tariffs on April 9, 2025, additionally noticed monetary indexes rise sharply.
The Trump Media and Know-how Group introduced on Thursday that it might provide a paid-for, licensed knowledge feed dubbed “Fact API” for banks and buying and selling companies, granting them privileged entry to the web site’s 10 most influential accounts, of which Trump’s is by far probably the most outstanding.
Democratic lawmakers have been amongst those that criticised that announcement, with Senator Ron Wyden saying that it might “make Wall Avenue merchants wealthy” together with the Trump household.
