US Senator Warns Wall Street Not to Buy Early Access to Trump's Social Media Posts

A top U.S. senator is asking big banks and trading companies to say no to a new service that lets them see President Donald Trump's Truth Social posts before everyone else. Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat, sent a letter to the leaders of six major financial industry groups on Tuesday, July 21. He warned that the service creates an unfair advantage for wealthy firms that can afford to pay for it. Warner said the arrangement is "very troubling" because Trump's posts can move stock markets around the world.

The new service is called "Truth API." It is run by Trump Media & Technology Group, also known as TMTG, which owns the Truth Social platform. The service gives paying customers much faster access to posts from the 10 most influential accounts on Truth Social, including Trump's own account. A regular user on Truth Social gets a standard notification, but paying customers would see the posts much sooner. That head start could help traders make money before others even know what Trump has said.

Reuters reported that TMTG has discussed charging firms as much as $100,000 per month for the faster access. The company has also offered a lower price of $60,000 per month for firms that agree to sign up for three years. These are very large sums of money, which means only the biggest and richest financial companies could afford it. Smaller investors and everyday people would not have the same access.

Senator Warner argued that this setup is especially unfair because Trump's posts are not just regular social media updates. When a president speaks, it often counts as government information that can affect the whole economy. Warner said that selling early access to that kind of information — especially when Trump's own company profits from it — is a serious problem. He is a member of both the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Senate Banking Committee, so he has a close eye on both security and financial issues.

Warner's letter was sent to the leaders of six major groups that represent banks and financial firms. Those groups include the Bank Policy Institute, the American Bankers Association, and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, among others. None of those groups responded to questions from reporters. The White House also declined to comment and pointed reporters to TMTG, which also did not respond. Lawyers say tech platforms are generally allowed to offer faster data to paying customers, but ethics experts say Trump's situation is different because his posts can carry the weight of government policy.