Along with inspiring former President Donald Trump to alter his Republican National Committee (RNC) speech and – judging by the results of the 1984 elections – creating the conditions for a proper red tide in November, the July 13 assassination attempt had a significant impact on the shares of Trump Media (NASDAQ: DJT).
Indeed, the stock rapidly surged some 70% in the pre-market on Monday – the first trading day following the attack. Although there has been a retracing since then, DJT stock remains higher, currently trading at $36.44, compared to its closing price of $31.25 last Friday.
As it turned out, extensive stock market activity targeting DJT also preceded the assassination attempt. Austin Private Wealth, LLC, a financial planning company based in Texas, bought put options on as many as 12 million shares of DJT just one day before the attack.
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The short position taken by Austin Private Wealth on July 12 was also the largest among those listed – the second-biggest being the 1.677 million short made by Citadel in May.
Why the DJT short looks suspicious
While such a move otherwise may not be particularly suspicious, given that the rocky performance of Trump Media makes it a reasonable target for short attempts, both the timing and the scale of the purchase make it stand out.
Reportedly, the short position is the largest Austin Private Wealth, LLC has ever taken and the trade represents 6% of total shares and over 16% of the float of the DJT stock.
Even without the assassination attempt, the short position would have been interesting as it was opened just days before the RNC was to take place.
Given that Donald Trump was generally accepted as the Republican nominee – and given President Biden’s recent debate and interview performance – it is probable DJT stock would have risen after the nomination was officially announced, even without the attack.
Finally one speculator on X commented that is was odd Austin Private Wealth amended their filing on 7/16 and removed their put option on TMGT.
“Another interesting thing about the amendment filed on 7/16 is that it is the only one they have ever had. I searched and their first filing was on 2-12-2020,” said Josh Walkos.
Why the Trump assassination attempt looks suspicious
For decades, if not centuries, the U.S. has been troubled by conspiracies and conspiracy theories arising from major political and economic events.
Various catastrophes have been claimed to have either been inside jobs or to have happened because security services decided not to prevent them. To name a few, these include the assassination of JFK, the 9/11 attacks, and even the Pearl Harbor attack that brought the U.S. into the Second World War.
The 2001 attacks, in particular, have some common ground with the attempt on Donald Trump’s life as significant bets against major airlines, including American Airlines (NASDAQ: AAL) and United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAL), were placed on September 10 of the year.
The July 13, 2024 assassination attempt particularly lends itself well to theorizing due to a suspicious convergence of events, decisions, and statements. The identity of the shooter, for example, has opened more questions than it answered, given that he was a registered Republican who, at one point, made a donation to a Democrat-adjacent cause.
How U.S. politicians inadvertently fuel conspiracy theories
Additionally, President Biden’s statement that Trump should be placed in a bull’s eye was read as threatening, particularly after a recent Supreme Court decision granting the Commander-in-Chief immunity for official acts.
Other U.S. politicians have also helped fan the fires with their own frequently suspicious stock market activities, either by heavily investing in war stocks just ahead of the October 7 attacks, selling right before the Covid-19 crisis was announced, or making many other suspiciously-timed trades.
Finally, the fact that the United States does have a history of government-organized political violence – such as the assassination of Fred Hampton of the Black Panther Party by the FBI – lends further credence to various conspiracy theorists.
Disclaimer: New data revealed that the initial reports on this topic were incorrect in whole or in part. You can read the follow-up piece with the up-to-date information here.
Featured image:
Elkowitz, Jonah M. National Harbor, MD, USA – February 24, 2024. Digital Image. Shutterstock.
