Investors in Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. cannot claim they were unprepared for this situation.

After being ousted from the White House following the 2020 election, Donald Trump utilized this company to launch his social media platform Truth Social in 2022, after being banned from the previously known Twitter in 2021 due to his attempts to overturn the election results.

Elon Musk, who arguably craves attention more than Trump, lifted that ban when he acquired Twitter and turned it into the disinformation-friendly site now referred to as X.

Trump, who had been silent on the platform for almost a year, made a dramatic comeback on Monday with numerous posts, followed by a two-hour, glitch-filled conversation with Musk that left many viewers wondering, “What did we just hear?”

If the stock price of Truth Social can be viewed as an indicator, Trump’s re-entry to X seems to have drastically harmed his own company. Truth Social’s stock plummeted to its lowest level in four months during trading on Tuesday.

The team managing Truth Social has always anticipated this moment.

Truth Social’s ongoing financial struggles

The ongoing challenges have been made clear through annual and quarterly reports submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which oversees the stock market.

Last month, a Truth Social prospectus, mandated by the SEC to provide essential details to prospective investors, reiterated this point. It established that Trump’s license agreement with Truth Social allows him “sole discretion” to publish any “politically-related” content across any social media platform, and the company “lacks any substantial remedy” if it disagrees with his choices, which could negatively impact the business.

To simplify this from Wall Street terminology to everyday language: Trump can choose a larger platform, like X, at the expense of Truth Social, leaving investors little recourse if they disapprove.

However, Trump’s actions may ease others’ burdens. He holds nearly 115 million shares of Truth Social, making him the largest shareholder with almost a 60% ownership stake. As the stock price falls, Trump endures considerable losses.

This dynamic adds an intriguing layer to Trump’s alliance with X and Musk, beyond the muddled content of their meandering debate on Monday.

Trump’s anxiety about the election grows

Trump is increasingly anxious as he perceives a shift in attention during the presidential race. Vice President Kamala Harris is drawing significant focus while Trump struggles to reclaim his position as the main attraction.

It’s noteworthy that while Harris’ presidential campaign is just 24 days underway, having kicked off last month after President Joe Biden decided against a second term, she has spent the majority of these past weeks making speeches from a teleprompter.

Trump, who announced his candidacy for a second term in November 2022, took nearly 21 months to conduct a traditional campaign press conference last week. Now, he and his campaign criticize Harris multiple times each day for not doing the same, completely ignoring the time it took him to field questions.

Trump’s anxiety is fueled by various political setbacks that have contributed to Harris’s rise in polling, ranging from her campaign kick-off to naming Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate and holding rallies in packed venues.

Next week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago is likely to give Harris another boost.

If Harris chooses to, she could generate even more attention by holding a press conference prior to the event, where she could field questions for about an hour. In contrast, Trump’s recent appearance last Thursday was filled with a predictable mix of falsehoods and complaints. His interaction with Musk on X was hardly any different.

Should she decide to take this opportunity, Harris could present herself as a serious presidential candidate simply by providing sensible answers to the questions posed.

Do you recall when Trump and Musk were not allies?

Trump’s return to X exemplifies his typical transactional mindset in all matters.

Back in 2022, Musk tweeted that Trump was “too old” to seek re-election while he was praising Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, whose presidential campaign collapsed in January.

For over a year, Trump’s campaign speeches have included mocking statements about electric vehicles, including those produced by Musk’s company, Tesla.

Following this, Musk formed a super PAC to back Trump’s campaign, while denying reports that he would invest $45 million a month. This support seems to have prompted Trump to adjust his campaign speeches last week, now offering mild praise for electric vehicles, influenced entirely by Musk’s backing.

Truth Social, however, did not feature in Musk’s conversation with Trump. Perhaps the former president was reluctant to discuss his setbacks, as Truth Social recently reported a loss of over $16 million in the second quarter and only earned $837,000 in revenue.

On Tuesday, Trump returned to Truth Social, claiming his conversation with Musk was a resounding success while predictably lamenting the media coverage it received. He had no reassurances for his investors, focusing solely on how X might enhance his campaign.

Investors should not be surprised, as they had already been cautioned about Trump’s unpredictability.