GOP senators criticize Trump plan to sell access to Truth Social posts

GOP senators at odds with President Trump are slamming the plan floated by his social media company to sell faster access to the president’s market-moving online posts to wealthy trading firms, which could give them a crucial edge in the financial markets.     

Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), the parent company of Truth Social, announced last week it would launch “Truth API” — a direct data feed that would give investment firms “real-time access to posts from the highest-ranking Truth Social accounts.”

Business-focused media outlets including Reuters and CNBC reported that executives at Truth Social discussed charging Wall Street traders and investment firms as much as $100,000 a month for faster access to the president’s posts.

TMTG has also pitched a discounted plan that would cost $60,000 per month if a client firm agrees to a three-year contract, according to Reuters and CNBC.

“I think that’s wrong. It’s a form of buying access,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who lost his primary to a Trump-backed candidate earlier this year.

He said families “struggling to make ends meet” would wonder, “Why would you reward those who are already doing well when we should do more for those who are struggling?’”

Sen. Susan Collins (R), who faces a competitive reelection race in Maine, said she didn’t know the details of the plan but questioned its rationale. “That does not sound appropriate,” she said.

GOP lawmakers say the business move is poorly timed, as Democrats are making a major push on Capitol Hill to accuse Trump of self-dealing and corruption.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said selling VIP access to Trump’s statements before they become public raises questions about conflicts of interest and ethical propriety.

“Think it through. You are talking about the ability to move markets when you’re advancing information,” she said.

“This is where we’re getting $100,000 for you to buy your visa to be teacher in a place like Alaska. We don’t really want to be that place where everything comes down to pay for play,” she said.

Murkowski called the money-making scheme “wild.”

“The president is the president of the United States and not in a position to use the position to enhance your own personal wealth. I hope he’s not thinking about that,” she said.

A spokesperson for Trump Media & Technology Group pushed back on the senators’ criticism and suggested that Truth API is simply a response to market demand. 

“With no apparent sense of irony, certain politicians falsely accuse us of anti-free market behavior while pressuring businesses into boycotting a product, all in a coordinated effort to harm a publicly traded company,” said Shannon Devine, who offered a statement on behalf of the company. 

The statement appeared to be a direct response to a letter circulated Tuesday by Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) urging banks and trading companies not to pay for faster access to Trump’s social media posts. 

“This arrangement presents a serious risk to market integrity, creates a clear and unacceptable pathway for corruption, and undermines public confidence in the fair dissemination of market-moving government information — a crucial factor in maintaining stable and trustworthy financial markets,” Warner wrote in a letter to the Bank Policy Institute, the Securities Industry Financial Markets Association, the Managed Funds Association, the Financial Services Forum, the Principal Traders Group and the American Bankers Association. 

Trump transferred what at the time was his $4-billion stake in Trump Media & Technology Group into a trust controlled by Donald Trump Jr., according to securities filings made public in December of 2024. The president’s son reportedly had “sole voting and investment power” at the time over Trump’s stake in the media company.  

Trump transferred what at the time was his $4-billion stake in TMTG into a trust controlled by Donald Trump Jr., according to securities filings made public in December 2024. The president’s son reportedly had “sole voting and investment power” at the time over Trump’s stake in the media company.  

Asked to react to the proposal, Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) said: “There are several layers to that question. … Is it illegal? Is it unethical? Is it something that I would do?”

“With only the little bit of information … all I can tell you is it’s not something I would do,” he said.

Democrats immediately criticized the proposal, arguing it is the latest example of what they say is a historic level of corruption in the Oval Office under Trump.

“Take Trump’s Truth API for $100,000 a month, Wall Street can buy early access to the president’s market-moving posts, and in milliseconds traders can make a fortune if they get this information first,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) said.

“If a White House aide sold presidential announcements to traders, it would be an earth-shattering scandal, and now Trump makes it a subscription plan,” he said. “We said we’re talking about corruption — every day he gives us more proof.”

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who is retiring at the end of the year and has also battled with Trump, said the president’s advisers need to put a stop to the business plan, warning it will give Democrats more political ammo for the midterm election.

“Just the appearances” are troubling, he said, “before you even get into any of the ethical or legal aspects of it.”

“It’s just, guys, ‘Why this?’ I’m thinking about people that are going to be voting in this election that grew up like me — sooner or later you start looking at that and that is not a world you represent,” he said, referring to his youth growing up in a trailer park before he became a top-level executive at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Asked if the business proposal crossed ethical boundaries, Tillis responded: “I can see the argument, let’s face it.”

“It just doesn’t make sense to me on its face,” he said.

“Maybe we can do like NASCAR and maybe put [commercial] decals on our [Senate] benches and stuff,” he quipped.

In another concerning development for GOP senators, CNN reported last week that Trump promoted more than 20 companies on his Truth Social account days after buying stock in those companies.

Republicans were already privately questioning whether Trump appears out of step with the concerns of average Americans as he pushes for controversial proposals such as $1 billion for the construction of a lavish 90,000-square-foot ballroom at the White House and a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund for MAGA allies who were prosecuted by the Justice Department.

“It doesn’t look right,” said a GOP senator who requested anonymity to comment candidly on the plan to sell special access to Trump’s posts.

The GOP lawmaker also expressed bewilderment over Trump’s earlier venture of selling watches ranging in price from $499 to $100,000.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who was also defeated by a Trump-backed primary challenger, laughed when asked about Trump’s latest business plan.

“I’m still trying to digest how to react to it,” he said. “He’s engaged in all sorts of commercial enterprises including taking an interest in various companies in exchange for various federal grants and loans, which I think is problematic.”

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