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By Shane Croucher
Senior Editor
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President Donald Trump's Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) wrote to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to alert it to "suspicious activity" after Qube, a U.K.-based hedge fund, declared a $105 million short position in its DJT stock.
Short-Selling
When an investor takes a short position in a company's stock, they are betting that the share price will decline, so they can buy them back at a lower price. There are strict rules that govern short-selling because of the potential for markets to be manipulated for profit.
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'Third-World Casino'
Newsweek has contacted Qube's press office by email for comment. Qube previously told Reuters its positions "do not reflect a specific view on the fundamental of the company."
In the letter, Trump Media, which operates the Truth Social social media platform heavily used by the president, said Qube disclosed its nearly six-million share short position—representing over 2.5 percent of publicly traded shares—in Germany on April 10.
But Nasdaq recorded the total short interest in Trump Media stock as 10.7 million shares on March 31, and that "third party sources" say the total short interest as of April 16 "is virtually unchanged—approximately 11 million shares."
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Trump Media said neither Nasdaq, NYSE Texas, "nor any other source has been able to confirm when the trades disclosed by Qube were conducted or if they were conducted at all."
"The above factors, especially when combined with the history of suspicious trading surrounding DJT stock...could be indications of the illegal naked short selling of DJT shares," the Trump Media letter said.
"We urge you to immediately investigate this suspicious trading and report your findings back to TMTG and any relevant civil and criminal authorities.
"American equities exchanges should be operated with full transparency and maximum efficiency, not as an opaque free-for-all reminiscent of a third-world casino."
An SEC spokesperson declined Newsweek's request for comment.
Trump Media Ownership
Trump owns around 53 percent of public Trump Media stock, which he placed into a revocable trust before taking office for his second term.
At the time of writing, Trump Media had a market value of around $4.4 billion, down by more than 40 percent since the beginning of the year.
Trump launched Truth Social in February 2022 after he was banned from Twitter, now called X, following the storming of Congress on January 6, 2021, by a mob of his supporters.
After he won the 2024 election, Trump hit back at speculation that he would sell his shares in Trump Media before taking office.
"There are fake, untrue, and probably illegal rumors and/or statements made by, perhaps, market manipulators or short sellers, that I am interested in selling shares of Truth," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
"THOSE RUMORS OR STATEMENTS ARE FALSE. I HAVE NO INTENTION OF SELLING!"
Update, 4/17/25, 10:00 a.m. ET: This article was updated to say the SEC declined to comment.
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