Former Republican President Donald Trump may have hoodwinked his followers into believing in his claims about his legendary business acumen.
But the business community itself isn't buying it--including the soon-to-be parent company of his social media platform Truth Social.
Digital World Acquisition Corp, the so-called "blank-check" firm merging with Trump Media and Technology Group, warned investors of Trump's laundry list of bankruptcies and business failures in a recent regulatory filing.
And it didn't stop there--the filing also warned that since Trump will be the CEO of the new company, it may well fail too.
Oops.
The lawyers registering Trump\u2019s Truth Social SPAC with the SEC had to go out of their way to detail Trump\u2019s history as a serial bankruptcy artist. Because when you\u2019re that bad at business you are a *risk* to investors. Hilarious reading: https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-05-16/the-trump-spac-is-in-business\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/GCEqFoMvyc— Tim O'Brien (@Tim O'Brien) 1652725253
The filing practically reads like a greatest-hits list of Trump's business failures, including casino and hotel properties Trump Taj Mahal, Trump Plaza, and Trump Castle, as well as Trump University, Trump Vodka, and Trump Steaks.
And given Trump's forthcoming role as chairman and ownership of up to 58% of the new company if the merger is approved, Digital World was forced to protect itself from legal repercussions should his failure catch to Trump Media as well.
The filing reads:
"A number of companies that were associated with President Trump have filed for bankruptcy."
"There can be no assurances that TMTG will not also become bankrupt."
The filing went on to add that many of Trump's licensing agreements have also gone belly up.
"A number of companies that had license agreements with President Trump have failed."
"There can be no assurances that TMTG will not also fail."
And just in case it wasn't absolutely crystal-clear that Trump Media and Truth Social are more likely to faceplant than they are to thrive, Digital World added:
"While all of the foregoing were in different businesses than TMTG, there can be no guarantee that TMTG's performance will exceed the performance of those entities."
Given Truth Social's disastrous roll-out so far, betting against it is probably the safer investment.
And on Twitter, there was plenty of schadenfreude about its odds being so bad the company had to put them on the record.
The company buying Trump's social network Truth Social warned investors about his history of bankruptcy and failed business ventures https://news.yahoo.com/company-buying-trumps-social-network-124901276.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw&tsrc=twtr\u00a0\u2026 via @Yahoo \n\nAnd another Trump business goes down the drain...the list is SO long, who would buy that...— Poolshooter (@Poolshooter) 1652807067
The bankruptcy king! Absolutely adored by the GOP. LOLhttps://www.yahoo.com/news/company-buying-trumps-social-network-124901276.html\u00a0\u2026— FLdad (@FLdad) 1652811460
. I love it when Trump gets called out for being a ConMan. The company buying Trump's social network Truth Social warned investors about his history of bankruptcy and failed business ventures #SmartNewshttps://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-truth-social-bankruptcy-warning-spac-filing-digital-world-2022-5\u00a0\u2026— Bluewave (@Bluewave) 1652810710
Love this! Everything Trump Touches Dies\n\nDonald Trump\u2019s media venture warns of #bankruptcy #risk tied to ex-president via @FT\n\n#TruthSocial \u2026 neither truthful nor socialhttps://on.ft.com/3FRSd0O— Alexander Stuart (@Alexander Stuart) 1652760548
They don't even mention the endless number of actual lawsuits filed against the Orange Bastard, in his person as well as his company.\n\nWhat lunatic would invest in this?https://twitter.com/TimOBrien/status/1526266453535731713\u00a0\u2026— Meander061 \ud83d\udd96\ud83c\udfff (@Meander061 \ud83d\udd96\ud83c\udfff) 1652729875
While others pointed out that the filing indicates Truth Social is nothing more than another Trump grift--especially given the filing's multiple warnings that Trump doing anything "illegal, immoral, or unethical" will not void the deal in question.
\u201cIf the former president does anything \u201cillegal, immoral, or unethical\u201d it is not considered a breach of his agreement with the company, according to the filing.\u201d\n\n\u2026Not if, when.— Sid MacLeod \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udf3b (@Sid MacLeod \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udf3b) 1652719909
Donald Trump will find a way to empty the coffers at Truth Social. He will drive it into bankruptcy like he did 6 other companies before that.— Texas Liberal / Ex-GOP Support \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udf3b\ud83c\udf08 (@Texas Liberal / Ex-GOP Support \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udf3b\ud83c\udf08) 1652720414
The never-ending grift continues: \n\n"Digital World said that Mr. Trump could be paid to post streaming videos on Trump Media\u2019s video-on-demand service in certain circumstances."https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/16/business/trump-truth-social-filing.html\u00a0\u2026— George Conway\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@George Conway\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1652719747
Sounds too legal to me. Are you sure there isn't a second-layer, law-skirting grift also?— Coffee and a Phone (@Coffee and a Phone) 1652746205
Nothing strange going on here at all-\n\nThe company buying Trump's social network Truth Social warned investors about his history of bankruptcy and failed business ventures https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-truth-social-bankruptcy-warning-spac-filing-digital-world-2022-5?utmSource=twitter&utmContent=referral&utmTerm=topbar&referrer=twitter\u00a0\u2026 via @businessinsider— Geo Steve (@Geo Steve) 1652800315
Truth Social already faces an uphill battle with its primary competition--Trump's Twitter account, which prospective new Twitter owner Elon Musk recently said he will reinstate once his ownership is official, an offer Trump surely won't have the restraint to refuse.
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@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social