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Former President Donald Trump gave his usual fiery performance during Thursday night’s presidential debate, launching pointed attacks at incumbent President Joe Biden, whose voice was hoarse as he fumbled for words.
The performance reignited long-held fears about 81-year-old Biden’s fitness and mental acuity, and about Trump’s continued propensity to bend the truth. Despite an early spike following Biden’s fumbles, Trump Media stock fell back into the red around mid-day on Firday.
Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind the former president’s far-right social media site Truth Social, dipped 4% on Friday, trading at $35.18 per share. They had risen as much as 15% in pre-market trading on Friday and opened up 4%, after closing out Thursday down more than 6%.
The former president is a majority shareholder of Trump Media, holding almost 65% of outstanding common stock in the company as of June 10.
So far this year, shares of Trump Media, which went public on the Nasdaq under the ticker DJT on March 26 after completing its merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp., are up more than 100%.
Despite the stock’s volatility, which has drawn comparisons to meme stocks like GameStop and AMC, its strong performance this year can largely be attributed to Trump’s spot in the limelight.
John Rekenthaler, vice president of research at Morningstar, previously told Quartz that he thinks Trump’s place in the news cycle, particularly when it comes to this year’s elections, will help the company’s stock.
“I think anytime Donald Trump is in the news is oxygen for the stock, in any way,” Rekenthaler said.
Even after Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts in his New York hush money trail, the stock swung wildly and ultimately ended at a gain for the media company. The stock has fallen roughly 30% since the trial closed, but recent gains have erased almost half of its losses since the conviction.