On Monday, Trump Media CEO Kevin McGern firmly defended the concept of the Truth API service on a business television channel. This product, launched on August 1, provides companies with paid early access to Donald Trump's posts on the Truth Social platform. Since its launch, the service's client base has grown to fifteen agreements, which, according to McGern, confirms the viability of the model.
The essence of Truth API is simple: for a monthly fee that can reach $100,000, trading firms, news agencies, and prediction platforms gain the ability to react instantly to the former president's statements. Critics, however, see this not just as a business but as a dangerous precedent. They argue that such a scheme allows select players to trade on information before the general public, calling into question the principles of market fairness.
Client Growth and Congressional Pressure
McGern emphasizes that demand for Truth API arose at the initiative of market participants themselves, not imposed by the company. He compares the product to APIs that major social networks have long used to connect trading and media partners. "We're now in the middle of the second dozen, and we continue to grow," he said, noting that just two weeks ago the number of client agreements was only ten.
However, the growth has not gone unnoticed. The service has already become the subject of at least one lawsuit and has drawn the attention of the U.S. Congress. Opponents of the idea call it unconstitutional, arguing that Donald Trump has no right to sell access to posts that "essentially belong to everyone." Trump himself owns a stake in Trump Media through a revocable trust, which keeps him as the owner but removes daily control over operations. Despite legal battles, the company has already earned more than $1 million from the service.
McGern also announced the expansion of Truth API to retail platforms, services with large language models, and prediction markets. The question is whether the client base will hold under the pressure of legal and political risks, especially ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.
My take: Truth API is a striking example of monetizing information asymmetry. As long as the market is willing to pay for speed of access to Trump's posts, demand will remain high. But if courts rule the model unconstitutional, it will create a dangerous precedent for the entire paid data industry, and then Trump Media will have to find new ways to profit from political influence.