Trump Media and Technology Group has officially launched CNBC, a subscription-based, business-to-business data feed designed to provide institutional customers and trading firms with faster, real-time access to posts from prominent accounts on NBC News. The service went live on a Saturday, giving paying subscribers an early edge on content published by high-profile users, most notably President Donald Trump.
Trump Media Officially Launches Truth API Data Feed for Trading Firms
The application programming interface provides what interim Chief Executive Officer Kevin McGurn described in a press release as a direct, licensed, real-time feed of the platform's most market-moving Truths.
While the company has not publicly disclosed the exact pricing, Reuters and other media outlets reported that Trump Media discussed charging up to $100,000 a month, or $60,000 a month as part of a three-year plan. Institutional customers gained access to the service on Saturday, just hours before Trump posted on the platform that he was close to a deal to end his war on Iran.
Market Impacts and High-Frequency Trading Advantage
The launch addresses the reality that markets frequently move in response to the president’s social media announcements. Trump has regularly used Truth Social during his second term to reveal major policy shifts, tariffs, and military operations instead of relying solely on traditional White House press office channels.
Financial firms already scrape posts through services like Bloomberg or Reuters, but the direct feed enables subscribers to receive updates seconds or even milliseconds faster than the general public. For high-frequency trading firms, those fraction-of-a-second advantages can dictate trading outcomes. However, industry analysts and brokers have noted potential pitfalls for everyday market participants. Joe Saluzzi, cofounder of institutional brokerage Themis Trading, stated that the system allows paying customers to bypass other traders, adding that the loser is always the retail investor.
Market analysts also pointed out that option and future buyers trading on every presidential post may see losses offset gains, effectively trading on market noise.
Political Scrutiny and SEC Investigation Demands
The new offering has ignited intense political controversy and ethical scrutiny over the mixing of presidential duties with personal business interests. Days before the launch, Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Adam Schiff of California sent a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins dated Tuesday, urging the agency to investigate whether the company is violating the law.
The lawmakers characterized the subscription service as an outrageous abuse of the President's office for his personal benefit that undermines everyday investors and the integrity of our markets, while enriching Wall Street and other wealthy insiders.
President Trump owns a majority stake in Trump Media, holding 114.75 million shares representing 41% of the company according to his 2025 financial disclosure.
In response to the regulatory pressure and criticism, a spokesperson for Trump Media defended the product in an emailed statement, saying critics continue to mischaracterize Truth API either out of ideological opposition to free markets or a failure to grasp the distinction between public and nonpublic information — or, quite possibly, both.
The White House referred requests for comment directly to the company, while the SEC declined to comment on the senators’ letter.
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