‘Proverbial Loser’: Citadel Brutally Rips Truth Social CEO For Trying to Blame Investors For Trump Media’s Plummeting Stock Price

Trump Media & Technology Group sent a letter on Thursday night warning that its stock price was being manipulated by aggressive short-selling. The letter received a brutal, mocking reply from Citadel Securities, one of the leading financial firms in the U.S.

“Reports indicate that, as of April 3, 2024, DJT was ‘by far’ ‘the most expensive U.S. stock to short,’ meaning that brokers have a significant financial incentive to lend non-existent shares,” Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes wrote to the CEO of the Nasdaq, where the stock is listed.

“Devin Nunes is the proverbial loser who tries to blame ‘naked short selling’ for his falling stock price. Nunes is exactly the type of person Donald Trump would have fired on The Apprentice. If he worked for Citadel Securities, we would fire him, as ability and integrity are at the center of everything we do,” hit back Citadel Securities, which Nunes mentioned by name in his letter.

CNBC’s Sara Eisen first reported on Citadel’s response, which she called “amazing.” Eisen noted:

In that letter Nunes, warning of “potential market manipulation” says “data made available to us indicate that just four market participants have been responsible for over 60% of the extraordinary volume of DJT shares traded: Citadel Securities, VIRTU Americas, G1 Execution Services, and Jane Street Capital”

Trump Media’s stock has been in a free fall since it first went public in late March and traded at $70 a share. The stock, which Donald Trump owns some 60 percent of, was trading around $36 per share on Friday afternoon. Trump Media has been dogged by questions over its lack of revenue and its billion-dollar market evaluation.