The former president secured a record margin of victory in Iowa’s Republican caucus on Monday
Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump points to supporters at the conclusion of a campaign rally at the Atkinson Country Club on January 16, 2024 in Atkinson, New Hampshire. © Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Shares in companies linked to former US President Donald Trump surged after his first victory in the campaign to reclaim the White House, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
On Monday, Trump decisively beat his chief rivals, Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, and Nikki Haley, a former South Carolina governor and ambassador to the UN, in the Republican caucus in Iowa. The midwestern state traditionally holds the first contest in the race to nominate the two major parties’ candidates for the presidential election.
Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC) soared by around 30% on Tuesday, the day after Trump’s victory, its best performance since July. Set up as a special purpose acquisition vehicle, also known as a blank check company, the entity’s purpose is to go public in order to raise money to finance a future merger – in this case with the operator of Trump’s social media platform Truth Social.
Digital World shares have plummeted by over 93% over the past year as the merger has seen multiple delays since its IPO in late 2021.
“Love him or hate him, drama follows him, and the [Digital World] deal is no different,” said Matthew Tuttle, the CEO of Tuttle Capital Management.
Meanwhile, Phunware, a small software developer that Trump’s 2020 presidential re-election campaign hired to build a phone app, skyrocketed by over 450% after the former president’s triumph in Iowa.
Shares of video-sharing platform Rumble, which cooperates with Trump Media and is popular with conservatives, rose 16%.
“Trump secured the Iowa Republican caucus with a landslide 51%. Next up is New Hampshire where Haley is polling well. Trump though looks unstoppable,” Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Finalto, said.
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