Report typos and corrections to: corrections@rawstory.com.
Former president Donald Trump's new media venture is "a suckers bet," according to Forbes magazine senior contributor Chuck Jones.
Trump's Truth Social platform is part of Trump Media & Technology Group, which is set to merge with Digital World Acquisition Corp.
Despite a jump this week in the stock price of Digital World, Jones notes that both are companies "with no revenue or earnings."
"We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date," according to Digital World's IPO prospectus.
"This can also be said of TMTG," Jones writes. "It is a business starting from ground zero with multiple hurdles in front of it. From its press release TMTG's business will be, 'create a rival to the liberal media consortium and fight back against the "Big Tech" companies of Silicon Valley, which have used their unilateral power to silence opposing voices in America.' Along with a social network, named 'TRUTH Social.' It will be a large hill to climb going against established social media companies."
He goes on to note that Trump "has a very poor track record running companies."
Trump has previously run only one publicly traded company, called Trump Entertainment Resorts, which included many of his Atlantic City casinos, the Washington Post reported this week.
"The company operated for roughly two decades, starting in 1995," the Post reported. "For Trump's investors, it was a disaster: The company lost more than $1 billion, its stock price nosedived, and it filed for bankruptcy three times, in 2004, 2009 and 2014. ... But Trump himself did well: The struggling company paid him more than $44 million in salary, bonuses and other compensation."
CONTINUE READING
Show less
GOP lawmaker refers to Asians as 'yellow' and says Black families were better off in 1960
October 23, 2021
A Republican state senator from Oklahoma on Friday referred to Asian-American families as "yellow" and suggested that Black people were better off in 1960.
Sen. David Rader made the remarks during testimony before the Legislature from a criminal justice policy analyst, Damion Shade, about the racial wealth gap, according to a report from KFOR.
Radar told Shade that he didn't mention "yellow families" until "well into his presentation."
"You left yellow families out for quite a while," Rader said.
"You mean Asian Americans?" Shade responded.
"You use black term, white term, brown term so I was just gonna jump in there with you," Rader said.
"I was just making sure, making sure I understood," Shade said.
"Asian distraction," Rader said.
"Asian Americans," Shader responded, correcting him.
"Because their experience has been totally different than many … others that have come over," Rader said.
He then alleged that Black families were "much more intact and much more able to be together in 1960 than it was even 30 years later, 40 years later from that point on."
Rolling Stone notes that Rader's reference to "yellow families" appeared to push "the false 'model minority' myth that Asian Americans don't experience negative consequences of racism in the same way as other races," while his remarks about Black families "perpetuated the myth pushed by some Republicans that Black culture and not racist government policy is responsible for the racial wealth gap."
"The use of the term 'yellow' has an ugly and racist history," Rolling Stone reported. "The term 'Yellow Peril' was used in the 19th and 20th centuries to describe people of Asian descent as a threat to Western values and to justify xenophobic immigration policies that severely limited Asian immigration to the U.S."
In a statement to KFOR, Rader said: "I've spent my entire life as a football coach and educator, fostering opportunities for individuals of every race and background. As a legislator, I have continued this important work because I believe each and every person in our state and our country should have an opportunity to pursue the American Dream. As I've done throughout my career, I am committed to eliminating barriers that might make the pursuit of that dream more difficult."
Rep. Cyndi Munson, the first Asian-American woman elected to the Oklahoma Legislature, called Rader's comments "offensive" and "unacceptable."
Watch below.
David Rader www.youtube.com
CONTINUE READING
Show less
Nothing would prevent Trump from using his 'TRUTH SOCIAL' network as he pleases if he's re-elected: WSJ
October 23, 2021
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, should Donald Trump's online platform "TRUTH SOCIAL" launch successfully and grow, there is no law that currently exists that will ban him from running the company as its CEO even if he is re-elected in 2024.
Noting that the stock has soared since it went public, the Journal noted that Trump Media & Technology Group, of which he is the CEO, could be a big player in "a crowded field of right-leaning sites and social networks, thanks to Mr. Trump's prominence and online following."
The Journal report also put to rest any suggestion that the one-term president would have to step away from the company in the event he succeeds in 2024.
According to the Journal's Patience Haggin and Michael Bender, "The deal wouldn't affect Mr. Trump's ability to run for the White House again in 2024 if he chooses. There are no laws preventing Mr. Trump from continuing to run or own businesses while he is a presidential candidate or serves as president, if he were to win another term in the White House."
Writing, "Beyond Truth Social, the company plans to launch a subscription streaming service that would feature entertainment programming, news and podcasts," the report adds, "Mr. Trump kept political allies—and some of his political staff—in the dark about the foundation of the company, people familiar with the matter said. In recent months, his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. , has taken an active role as a senior adviser to the new project and could have an executive role with the company, they said. The younger Mr. Trump has urged the company to use servers that would make it difficult for political enemies to target, the people said."
A successful launch would allow Trump to work around the traditional media outlets and websites where he has been banned -- like Twitter or Facebook -- without the restraints that led to his banning.
"Mr. Trump had 89 million followers on Twitter, 33 million on Facebook and 24.5 million on Instagram, a unit of Facebook, before his accounts were suspended earlier this year, according to a Trump Media & Technology Group presentation," the Journal report states with Alan Knitowski, CEO of Phunware Inc., an enterprise software company that worked on apps for Trump's 2020 presidential campaign, stating that "Truth Social may find an audience with Americans who believe the leading social-media platforms have overreached in moderating content."
Whether he wins in 2024 or not, a successful launch could slow down his financial woes.
"Mr. Trump's new venture comes as his family business has faced financial troubles, including $400 million in debt due in the next few years. The pandemic has led to a drop-off in business at his hotels and golf resorts," with one social media competitor saying the family "could generate $240 million a year in revenue with minimal content expense," with a subscription plan set at $10 a month.
You can read more here.
CONTINUE READING
Show less
Copyright © 2021 Raw Story Media, Inc. PO Box 21050, Washington, D.C. 20009 | Masthead | Privacy Policy | For corrections or concerns, please email corrections@rawstory.com.
Don't Sit on the Sidelines of History. Join Raw Story Investigates and Go Ad-Free. Support Honest Journalism.
Subscribe Annually
$95 / year — Just $7.91/month
Subscribe Monthly
$1 trial
I want to Support More
$14.99 per month
{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}