Trump Media is ‘a scam’ and people buying its stock are ‘dopes,’ Barry Diller says

Trump
Media
is “a
scam,”
and
people
buying
its
high-flying

stock
are “dopes,”


IAC
and
Expedia
Chairman

Barry
Diller
said
Thursday
in
a
scathing
takedown
of
the

social
media
company
whose
majority
shareholder
is
former
President

Donald
Trump.

“I
mean,
it’s
ridiculous,”
Diller
said
on
CNBC’s “Squawk
Box”
when
asked
about
Trump
Media. “The
company
has
no
revenue.”

“It’s
a
scam,
just
like
everything
he’s
ever
been
involved
in
is
some
sort
of
con,”
he
said
of
Trump.

A
Trump
Media
spokeswoman,
in
response
to
Diller’s
comments,
said, “It
is
unsurprising
to
see
die-hard
Trump
haters
and
leftwing
flacks
blow
a
gasket
now
that
Truth
Social
has
become
a
public
company
that,
still
today,
refuses
to
suppress
political
expression
that
contradicts
the
narratives
they
want
to
enforce.” 

CNBC
has
requested
comment
from
a
spokesman
for
Trump,
who
is
the
presumptive
Republican
presidential
nominee.

When
Trump
Media
began
trading
last
week
with
the
ticker
DJT,
its
share
price
rocketed
up
about
50%
to
close
to
$80
before
settling
down.
As
of
Thursday
morning,
Trump
Media
shares
were
selling
for
nearly
$47.

That
gives
the
company
a
whopping
$6.4
billion
market
capitalization
despite
the
fact
it
had
just
$4.1
million
in
revenue
last
year,
and
its
business
is
focused
on
the
Truth
Social
app,
which
has
significantly
fewer
users
than
major
social
media
platforms.

Trump
Media
on
Monday
reported
it
had
net
losses
of
$58
million
in
2023.

He
compared
the
price
run-up
of
Trump
Media
to
the “meme
stock”
frenzy
in
2021,
when
the
price
of


GameStop
soared
to
nearly
$500
per
share
and


AMC
Entertainment,
a
movie
theater
company,
saw
its
share
price
skyrocket
to
more
than
$700.

GameStop
shares
were
selling
for
less
than
$12
per
share
in
early
trading
Thursday
morning,
and
AMC
shares
for
just
more
than
$3.

“I
think
they’re
dopes,”
Diller
said
when
asked
why
people
are
buying
the
company’s
stock.

“I
mean,
who
would
buy
a
company
that
literally,
what
does
it
have,
$30
of
revenue?
Who
could
put
a
value
on
that?”
Diller
asked.

“They’re
buying
it
for
other
reasons,
just
like
they
bought
theaters
when
there
was
no
theater
business
or
bought
GameStop,
whatever.”

“It’s
stupid.
Stupid
stuff,”
he
said.

Asked
if
Trump
Media
could
ever
become
a
bigger
business
than
it
is
now,
particularly
if
Trump
is
elected
president
later
this
year,
Diller
flatly
replied, “No
…
no.”

“Look,
he’s
only
interesting
now
because
he’s
out
there
entertaining
the
folks,”
Diller
said. “I
hope
if
he
gets
elected
he
just
plays
golf
for
four
years.”