A Wall Street Journal analysis of President Donald Trump's social media reveals a high-volume, often erratic posting pattern that injects uncertainty into global markets.
A Wall Street Journal analysis of more than 8,800 posts during his second term reveals President Trump’s late-night social media habits create a stream of unpredictable, market-sensitive information for investors to parse. The high-volume, often inflammatory feed operates nearly around-the-clock, mixing official announcements with reposts of conspiracy theories and personal attacks.
"Truth Social has never been hotter, and it’s because President Trump offers his unfiltered and direct thoughts to the American people, without the biased media taking him out of context,” White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said in a statement to the Journal.
The analysis identified 44 separate late-night posting sprees of a dozen or more messages between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. since Trump’s second term began. On one day in December, the account published nearly 160 posts. A recent burst between Monday night and Tuesday morning saw 55 messages posted between 10:14 p.m. and 1:12 a.m.
This constant, unfiltered stream of presidential musings forces investors to monitor a volatile information channel, creating uncertainty that can impact equities, commodities, and currency markets without warning. The content ranges from foreign policy statements to reposts of anonymous accounts calling for the arrest of political opponents, leaving the public with a stew of presidential thoughts published while most of the country is asleep.
According to the Journal's reporting, the process is largely managed by Natalie Harp, Trump’s executive assistant, who presents the president with stacks of draft posts for his approval. Trump personally signs off on all content, but the process often bypasses review from the chief of staff’s office or national-security officials, according to people familiar with the matter.
A Torrent of Conspiracies and AI Images
The content of the posts frequently veers into misinformation and personal grievances. In recent sprees, Trump has shared false claims that the 2020 election was stolen, called for the arrest of former President Barack Obama, and amplified a fake quote attributed to a U.S. Senator that originated from a satire website.
The president’s feed has also become a showcase for artificial intelligence-generated images. He has shared mock-ups of himself on a $100 bill, as well as bizarre and derogatory images of his political rivals, including one depicting former Presidents Obama and Joe Biden in sewage and another showing Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker surrounded by junk food.
The sheer frequency of the posts suggests a grueling schedule. An analysis by The Daily Beast, based on the timing of his posts, concluded that on one night this week, Trump could not have slept more than five and a half hours. The same analysis found there were only five nights in April where the president could have had a full eight hours of sleep, a pattern of potential sleep deprivation that concerns some observers.
Unpredictability as Market Risk
For investors, the account represents a significant source of political and policy risk. Nearly a fifth of the feed has been dedicated to official acts, including foreign-policy announcements and endorsements. Since fighting with Iran began on Feb. 28, the account has posted at least 240 times about the war. This practice of announcing policy on a social platform, often outside of normal hours, means markets must be on constant alert.
This behavior is an escalation of a pattern established during Trump's first term, when his use of Twitter frequently caused short-term market volatility. The last time a president used social media with such market-moving potential, it was Trump himself, but the volume and erraticism have increased in his second term. This forces market participants to treat his Truth Social feed as a de facto source of breaking policy news, introducing a unique and unpredictable variable into risk models.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
