Trump's cash troubles: Donald Trump's social media platform, Truth Social, will most likely be approved today to be publicly traded on Wall Street (stock ticker: DJT). "Shareholders of Digital World Acquisition Corp., a publicly traded shell company that is looking to merge with the former president's media business," will be voting on the deal, which would possibly "open the door for Trump Media & Technology Group, whose flagship product is the social networking site Truth Social, to soon begin trading on the Nasdaq stock market in Digital World's place," per the Associated Press.
If the deal goes through, Trump's payout could be over $3 billion, but the infusion of cash would not hit soon enough to help him with campaign expenses or to settle up his legal debts in time—one of the terms of the deal involves a "lock up agreement" that would prevent the selling of shares that were recently issued for six months.
"Trump could try to obtain a waiver from that rule, but even then he wouldn't be able to sell more than a small fraction of his stake at any given time—up to 1 percent of the outstanding shares every quarter," reports Politico. "And if he eventually does unload a large quantity of stock, the ramifications could be significant, according to investors and others watching the deal." Since Trump's personal brand is so closely tied to the company's value, it's important that he tread lightly so as to not spook investors.
But Trump has roughly $450 million in civil penalties he must pay, so he's still in a bind; this week, news broke that he was having trouble securing a bond, so the New York state attorney general's office may have to start seizing his assets "unless the court agrees to halt the judgment while the former president appeals the verdict," reports Politico.
As for his campaign funds, "Trump is beginning the 2024 general election at a financial disadvantage, with some donors still skittish about chipping in," reports the Wall Street Journal. "Fundraising reports filed late Wednesday showed Biden's campaign and allied committees had more than $155 million on hand at the end of February, compared with $74.4 million for Trump's campaign and allied committees. The former president's total, which doesn't include one additional committee that won't report until next month, has been drained by more than $53 million in legal-related expenses since early 2023."
Scenes from New York: I regret that I must bring you more squatter news: Though the crime is still being investigated, squatters in an apartment on East 31st St. appear to be responsible for killing 52-year-old Nadia Vitel, a woman who was attempting to clean out her deceased mother's Manhattan apartment.
"We believe that some squatters took the apartment over and this woman came home…and walked in on the squatters that were there," said New York Police Department Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny. It's yet another squatters story in the news, bringing attention to how big of a problem this is and how lopsided the state's laws are.
"In New York, if you call the police on someone who moved into your home without permission, if they claim to be a tenant, they can't be arrested for trespassing," reports ABC7 news. "Instead, the owner has to take them to court to evict them. The average eviction in the city takes about two years to complete." The issue is, squatters are entitled to such protections in New York after residing in a property for 30 days—something a state assemblyman from Long Island is looking to change, following the news story from earlier in the week of the Queens woman who was arrested after trying to get squatters out of the home she owns.
QUICK HITS
- A month ago, Spotify rolled out a feature that allows people to see the size of each podcast's audience. Joe Rogan's show is even more massive—14.5 million listeners—than most people realized, three times more than the next most popular podcast. "His Spotify following is still smaller than his subscribers on YouTube, which come in at 16.4 million, and his personal Instagram followers, which are at 18.9 million," reports Bloomberg.
- "Why do men dominate chess?" asks Quillette. Article includes a very cute quote from Wilhelm Steinitz—the reigning chess champion for a chunk of the 19th century—who advocated for more women in chess (contra lady-badmouther Bobby Fischer): "If we engage the queens of our hearts for the queens of our boards, and if we can enlist the interest of our connubial mates for our chessical mates, our intellectual pastime will be immensely benefited and will pass into universal favor."
- Indian elections for prime minister start next month, and Narendra Modi's government is working overtime to thwart the opposition parties.
- How the new House speaker, Mike Johnson, is struggling to fundraise for Republicans.
- Are low mortgage rates a thing of the distant past?
- Trouble at the American Civil Liberties Union.
- Writer Seth Mandel interviewed Jewish reggae artist Matisyahu—on venue staff repeatedly protesting him and getting his shows canceled—for Commentary.
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