Trump’s New Company Says “The Truth Is Coming” (So Hold on to Your Wallets!)

 By Howard Polskin, December 15, 2021

Donald Trump’s new company wants to be a dragon slayer.  The recently announced Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) proposes competing with the world’s biggest companies: Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google.  

 That’s the inference from reading page 5 of the 22-page deck posted on the TMGT website.  Under the heading of “Market Opportunity to Disrupt Big Tech” are the logos of the aforementioned goliaths that Trump intends to battle.

 This begs the following questions: Is the rantings of a madman?  Is this Trump’s latest grift to separate investors from their money? Can we afford to once again underestimate the man who vanquished two political dynasties to become elected president in 2016?

I spent a couple of hours touring the TMTG’s bare bones website which looks at first glance  like it’s going to be the Mar-a-Lago of media/technology companies, a glittering showcase to dazzle and thrill the masses.  However, on closer inspection, it resembles more of a semi-furnished West Palm Beach rental near the airport.  If TMTG can’t deliver more specifics than it hints at in its information-challenged website, I advise potential investors to keep their wallets closed for now.  

The new website has four tabs: Our Vision, Company Overview, Press and  Investors.  The home page somewhat erroneously suggests that TMTG is a social media play.  It’s not.  It’s much bigger than that. The bold headline shouts: “A Uniting Force for Freedom of Expression,” followed by subheads promising that there will be no political discrimination, no cancel culture and that the venture will stand up to big tech.  Okay.  That’s very nice except it sounds like the many other conservative-friendly social media websites now operating.

 There’s a small red button on the home page provocatively named “Follow the TRUTH.” Truth is so important in Trumpworld that the word must be written in all caps.   Click on it, and you’re taken to another page with big, bold words exclaiming, “FOLLOW THE TRUTH.” Again, all caps, but in even bigger type.  The purpose of this page is to get visitors to join the waiting list for Trump’s social media platform.  It also seems like a good way to build the ex-President’s mailing list so he can solicit funds and sell overpriced crap like Trump’s $26 Christmas wrapping paper.

The meat of the website describes the three divisions of the company: Truth Social, the social media platform; TMTG+, which is the streaming platform offering entertainment, sports and documentaries; and TMTG News.

Truth Social seems the most fully baked idea so far.  Trump is a proven social media star so he’s got a bit of wind at his back here.  However, just because he’s attracted 86 million Twitter followers, doesn’t automatically mean that he can create a viable social media platform capable of enticing hundreds of millions of  users. And he’d be going up against several conservative-friendly social platforms so he’s definitely not alone in the space.  TMTG features a generic 50-second video about Truth Social with a dancing orangutan for no apparent reason.  Yes.  That’s correct.  A dancing orangutan.  

TMTG’s ambitions with its streaming platform was equally puzzling.  It promises entertainment, but offers no specifics even though the deck explicitly points out that it will compete with Netflix and Disney.  Sports will also be offered on TMTG+ but I struggle to understand what sports would work in such an environment.  Kick the liberal? Stuff the ballot box? The Capitol Hill 100-yard dash? 

TMTG’s third division, TMTG News intends to take on CNN and iHeart Radio. MSNBC, NPR and other liberal outlets were curiously overlooked.  But more significantly, it makes no mention of what exactly what this news division is going to do.  What talent is lined up? What platforms will be used?  

The appointment of Rep. Devin Nunes as the company’s CEO represents the  most detailed information available on the site. It’s also the most baffling.  What skills besides his fealty to Trump does the former dairy farmer possess? 

This has all the makings of a train wreck. And like all train wrecks, I can’t help but watch.  Stay tuned for future updates.

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