One afternoon final month, Chad Nedohin, a part-time pastor and die-hard supporter of Donald J. Trump, placed on a pirate costume, arrange his microphone and recited a prayer.
Mr. Nedohin was opening his newest livestream on the right-wing video web site Rumble, the place he has about 1,400 followers who share a devotion to Trump Media & Know-how Group, the previous president’s social media firm.
“Religion comes from listening to — that’s, listening to the excellent news about Christ,” mentioned Mr. Nedohin, 40, his face framed by faux dreadlocks below a pirate-style hat.
Mr. Nedohin and his viewers have been ready for the outcomes of a merger vote that might decide whether or not Mr. Trump’s firm may begin promoting inventory on Wall Avenue. Quickly the information about Trump Media arrived by way of an audio feed: It was going public.
Mr. Nedohin raised his arms in celebration. A couple of minutes later, he reduce to a video of a rocket blasting into the sky, with Mr. Trump photoshopped onto it. “We’re holding Trump shares,” he declared. “We at the moment are monetary buyers in him.”
Mr. Nedohin is one in every of a whole bunch of 1000’s of novice buyers who personal shares of Trump Media, satisfied that its sole platform, Reality Social, will turn into one of many world’s hottest and worthwhile social media websites. In current months, tens of 1000’s of Trump followers have tuned into Mr. Nedohin’s webcasts, the place he exhorts viewers to spend money on the corporate, arguing that “Trump at all times wins in the long term.”
The passion from Mr. Nedohin and different Trump supporters has turned Trump Media into the newest “meme inventory,” pushed extra by web hype than enterprise fundamentals. Within the public markets, these novice buyers have discovered themselves pitted in opposition to skilled brief sellers, specialist buyers who wager that shares will fail, in addition to frantic day merchants in search of a fast revenue.
Consequently, Trump Media’s inventory worth has swung wildly, generally dropping as a lot as 18 % or rising as a lot as 28 % in a single day. The corporate is “a meme inventory on steroids,” one analyst not too long ago wrote.
The inventory’s unpredictable swings have main implications for Mr. Trump’s funds. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee owns greater than $4 billion in Trump Media shares, together with not too long ago awarded bonus shares — a possible lifeline as he faces steep authorized payments tied to the instances in opposition to him. The inventory’s volatility may add a whole bunch of thousands and thousands of {dollars} to his paper wealth — or vaporize it.
A Canadian citizen, Mr. Nedohin can not vote for Mr. Trump in November. However he owns greater than 1,000 shares in Trump Media, that are buying and selling at about $36, down roughly 50 % from its peak in March.
Mr. Nedohin started shopping for the shares in late 2021, after Digital World Acquisition Company, a publicly traded shell firm, introduced plans to merge with Trump Media. Digital World was buying and selling at $93 a share on the time.
As soon as the merger was ultimate on March 25, Trump Media started buying and selling on Wall Avenue, and the unique Digital World shares have been transformed into Trump Media inventory below the ticker DJT.
Mr. Nedohin mentioned he had held on to his shares and didn’t plan to promote. On the livestream, he interacts with viewers who use display names like GOATPOTUS, urging them to maintain the religion even when costs fall. “Don’t freak out,” he mentioned on a current present.
Reality Social “has the potential to simply eclipse Twitter,” the app now often known as X, Mr. Nedohin mentioned in an interview. “I’m not involved about my funding in anyway.”
Mr. Nedohin doesn’t just like the time period “meme inventory” and prefers “populist retail funding.” But when he’s mistaken about his wager, the monetary affect on his viewers and Trump Media’s different buyers might be devastating, given the dangers of those unstable shares.
By conventional metrics, Trump Media is just not a profitable enterprise. The corporate reported $4 million in income final 12 months and $58 million in losses. In contrast with mainstream social websites, Reality Social has a minuscule viewers — 1.5 million folks visited the location final month, in keeping with knowledge from Similarweb, a small fraction of the 75 million who logged on to X.
Nonetheless, loyal buyers like Mr. Nedohin are one purpose Trump Media’s inventory now trades at a valuation roughly equal to that of established corporations like Wendy’s and Western Union. This month, Devin Nunes, Trump Media’s chief govt and a former Republican congressman, cited the passion of retail buyers as an indication of the corporate’s power.
Any suggestion that these merchants would possibly lose cash quantities to “punching down at a whole bunch of 1000’s of on a regular basis American retail buyers,” Shannon Devine, a Trump Media spokeswoman, mentioned in an e mail.
From his dwelling in Edmonton, Alberta, Mr. Nedohin works as an engineer, calculating mechanical stress on pipes. However his ardour is ministry: Though not ordained, he mentioned, he has taken part-time gigs at native church buildings, main worship teams as a nondenominational lay pastor. He’s additionally a guitarist, with a portfolio of authentic Christian songs, a few of which have performed on Canadian radio.
Earlier than Reality Social, he mentioned, he generally posted on Fb however by no means obtained a lot traction. He craved an alternate.
In 2021, Mr. Trump co-founded Trump Media after he was kicked off Twitter for his incendiary posts earlier than the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6. A 12 months later, Reality Social went dwell, managed by two former contestants on “The Apprentice.”
Mr. Nedohin had been a fan ever since Mr. Trump glided down the escalator at Trump Tower in Manhattan to announce his 2016 marketing campaign. He considers the previous president a supporter of Christian values, and believes the 2020 election was stolen from him.
Mr. Nedohin created a Reality Social account in Could 2022 and shortly discovered a group that shared his two important pursuits: Christianity and Digital World’s inventory.
“I’ve by no means met such a tremendous group of people who find themselves so comfortable to have freedom of speech,” he mentioned.
However Reality Social was glitchy, and Mr. Trump took months to put up his first message. In 2022, the 2 “Apprentice” contestants left Trump Media after the Securities and Change Fee opened an investigation into the Digital World merger.
That inquiry delayed Trump Media’s plans to go public, and the value of Digital World’s inventory dropped. Mr. Nedohin was involved. However within the spring of 2022, he mentioned, he acquired a message from God.
“You ask him to maneuver a mountain, and generally he palms you a shovel,” Mr. Nedohin mentioned. This time, he mentioned, “that little voice inside” informed him to begin a podcast.
Mr. Nedohin began the Rumble present, “DWAC’d Dwell!” — a reference to Digital World’s inventory image. On the present, he tried to mobilize Reality Social’s customers, urging them to ship letters to Congress protesting the S.E.C.’s investigation.
He adopted the pirate persona to drive consideration, he mentioned, calling himself “Captain DWAC” on the livestream. On Reality Social, he emerged as what passes for an influencer, with 6,600 followers.
Mr. Nedohin’s advocacy obtained the eye of Eric Swider, a Trump Media board member and former Digital World chief govt, who appeared on “DWAC’d Dwell!” final 12 months.
“Just remember to assist get the phrase on the market,” Mr. Swider mentioned on the present, including that “we’re very, very grateful in your help.”
In July, Digital World settled with the S.E.C. for $18 million, paving the best way for the merger with Trump Media to be accepted final month. Mr. Nedohin was ecstatic.
However the drop in Trump Media’s share worth has triggered consternation on-line, with some Reality Social customers complaining that they’ve misplaced cash. A lot of the frustration has been directed at brief sellers.
Trump Media posted directions for shareholders on its web site explaining tips on how to forestall brokerage companies from lending shares to brief sellers. Final week, Mr. Nunes wrote a letter to the Nasdaq, the place the inventory is listed, complaining about “potential market manipulation.” He adopted that up with letters on Tuesday to the Republican chairs of a number of congressional committees. Mr. Trump beforehand warned that brief sellers may “get damage very badly.”
“As a Christian, I don’t imagine in shorting,” Mr. Nedohin mentioned. “I imagine in solely constructing for the constructive.”
He stays totally dedicated to Reality Social. Through the S.E.C. protest, he mentioned, he returned to X, hoping to boost consciousness in regards to the marketing campaign. Now that Trump Media is a public firm, “I’ll by no means want to achieve any of the folks which can be on there,” he mentioned.
As his livestream ended, Mr. Nedohin deleted his X account.
Audio produced by Adrienne Hurst.
