Can Trump Use Truth Social Windfall to Pay New York Fine?

Today on Truth Social, Donald Trump posted a link to an article on Brietbart entitled “The Truth About Trump’s Truth Social Windfall”, which looks at the incredible fortune Trump stands to gain.

For the most part, the article takes a positive view of Trump, which should be expected on Brietbart, of course. But it is also surprisingly objective in discussing some of Trump’s problems in raising cash, and the legal difficulties he’s facing.

That tells me, of course, that Trump may not have actually read the article – at least not in full. He may have simply glanced at it, saw that it was on Brietbart – a staunchly pro-Trump site if there ever was one – and just posted the link without a second thought.

But whether or not Trump thoroughly read the article, what caught my eye were a few paragraphs at the end, and perhaps what they could be telling us about Trump’s intentions. Here they are.

“A big question everyone is asking is whether Trump can use the $3 billion or so he stands to make from the merger to pay the $464 million bond he needs to post to appeal the judgment against him in New York. As is quite common in initial public offerings and special acquisition company mergers, Trump’s shares are subject to a lockup period of six months. The terms of that lockup bar him from not only selling the shares but from using them as collateral for a loan.

“But the company could waive or modify the lockup. In this case, they would only have to grant a partial waiver allowing Trump to borrow against the shares. It would not be a stretch to say that it is in the interest of the company that the guy whom the company is built around not face the ruinous prospect of trying to sell his hard assets to appeal the New York judgment.

“Would a bank or an insurance company loan Trump the money he needs with the shares as collateral?

That’s a trickier question. Trump’s lawyers have said that banks have demanded cash collateral and refused to accept pledges of his equity in properties he owns. If they took the same position with respect to the shares, Trump might be out of luck.

“But there’s reason to believe they might not. Valuing the real property Trump likely offered as collateral would be an arduous undertaking, especially because much of it is probably already pledged under mortgages and other financing arrangements. What’s more, Trump just had a New York court declare that he had fraudulently inflated the values of some of his properties when seeking loans, which would surely raise issues with the compliance folks at potential lenders.

“That’s not a problem when it comes to the shares of a publicly traded company. The value of the shares that would be pledged is plain for all to see. Even if a bank were wary that the shares might drop in value, it would not be outlandish to think that Trump’s shares are worth at least $500 million. Remember, the company will have around $300 million in cash on its books once the merger is complete.

“The real problem might be timing. Trump reportedly needs to post the appeal bond by Monday. Can he get the waiver and arrange the financing that quickly? We’ll likely find out very soon.”

So, it is very interesting that Trump posted a link to this article, and if he did indeed read it in full, then perhaps getting the new company to do a partial waiver on the lockup agreement is exactly what’s he’s working on this weekend.

This should be a very interesting next couple of days, as we find out if Trump ends up raising the necessary funds to appeal the judgment, or failing that, if the New York Attorney General asks the judge to seize his assets.

But one thing for sure, no matter what happens in the next 48 to 72 hours, you can be absolutely positive that the man who loves retribution, is getting angrier by the day, and is busy plotting his revenge. ♦