Erratic behavior by the presidential candidate didn’t help inspire confidence in the company named after him.
One day after seeing its stock surge, Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT -9.65%) shares tumbled sharply. They declined by almost 10% in price on Tuesday, on news that their namesake didn’t appear to be gaining ground with voters. That drop was far more precipitous than the 0.8% decline of the bellwether S&P 500 index on the day.
The company’s figurehead is not gaining in polls
As we’re so close to the election — a mere 21 days away, as of this writing — the likelihood of Donald Trump returning to the presidency is a major factor in the performance of Trump Media. One influential poll, Reuters/Ipsos, found on Tuesday that Vice President Kamala Harris was holding her three-percentage-point lead over the business mogul, with 45% of those surveyed saying they would vote for her versus 42% for Trump.
One factor that might have halted any advancement for Trump was his erratic behavior at a South Dakota town hall on Sunday. At the end of the event, he abruptly stopped answering questions from the audience, choosing instead to play and mostly dance to music selections for the better part of an hour.
Trump Media would, of course, become a far more important and influential social media company if the former president was chosen next month to lead the country again. Conversely, its foundational Truth Social site would remain a relatively niche player in that high-profile sector if he were to lose.
The most volatile social media stock
Trump Media is a volatile, frequently unpredictable stock at the best of times — and we might not be heading into the best of times for Trump. Investors may be better off putting their money on one of the larger and far more popular social media operators; for the most part, these aren’t as affected by developments in U.S. politics.
Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.