Trump-themed stocks surge 460%... Biden approval rating plummets

Biden's Approval Wavers Amid Rising Inflation
Trump Announces SNS Return, Investment Floods Related Stocks

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] As President Joe Biden's first anniversary of election approaches, the fortunes of President Biden and former President Donald Trump are diverging. While President Biden is struggling amid weakening economic recovery expectations and soaring inflation, the social networking service (SNS) launched by former President Trump has attracted intense interest in the stock market.

◆Smiling Trump=On the 21st (local time), the key word in the New York stock market was 'Trump.'

After being banned from Facebook and Twitter, former President Trump launched his own social network 'TRUTH Social,' operated by the 'Trump Media and Technology Group' (TMTG). The special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) DWAC, which is merging with TMTG, saw its stock price surge by as much as 460% during the trading session.

DWAC initially valued the merged company at $875 million, but on that day, DWAC's market capitalization reached $1.46 billion. Investors believed that the return of former President Trump, who had been banned from SNS, would create equivalent value.

CNBC reported that the investment inflow was so intense it overshadowed the price surges of meme stocks like GameStop and AMC, which individual investors have favored. On that day, DWAC was the hottest topic in the WallStreetBets stock discussion forum on the community site Reddit.

The New York Post reported that DWAC trading volume at Fidelity Securities alone was three times that of Tesla and six times that of the ProShares Bitcoin Futures ETF. The Wall Street Journal explained that DWAC's surge seemed to rekindle the SPAC investment fever seen at the beginning of the year.

◆Frowning Biden=Unlike former President Trump, only gloomy news continued for President Joe Biden.

According to the 'National Economic Opinion Survey' released by CNBC that day, 41% of respondents supported President Biden's job performance, while 52% did not.

In the same survey conducted in July, 48% supported President Biden, which was 3 percentage points higher than those opposed.

Only 40% of respondents supported President Biden's economic policies, fewer than the 54% who did not. The percentage of those opposing economic policies increased by 7 percentage points compared to the July survey.

Americans were concerned about inflation. The percentage of respondents citing inflation as their biggest worry surged by 16 percentage points compared to three months earlier. COVID-19 and inflation were tied as the top concerns among Americans.

46% of respondents believed the economy would worsen next year, the highest since CNBC began polling 13 years ago. Additionally, 47% expected a recession.

This survey confirmed concerns that the sharp rise in inflation could significantly impact President Biden's approval ratings. As the U.S. consumer price index soared by 5.4%, public anxiety increased. While President Biden has focused on addressing climate change and cut support for fossil fuels, the average gasoline price in the U.S. rose to $3.368 per gallon, unsettling voters.

Logistics issues are also problematic. This is why the White House is closely monitoring the upcoming holiday shopping season. Political analysts predict that if gifts ordered during the holiday season are not delivered on time, dissatisfaction will be directed at the White House and President Biden. Although President Biden personally announced 24/7 operations at the Port of Los Angeles, resolving the logistics bottleneck remains a long way off.

President Biden needs a turning point, but the infrastructure investment plan he is pushing to rally his base is falling apart. The social infrastructure investment bill, initially planned at $2.5 trillion, is inevitably being drastically reduced due to opposition within the Democratic Party. Raising corporate taxes and increasing taxes on the wealthy to fund the investment are also becoming difficult. When Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema opposed the corporate tax hike, the White House reportedly began seeking ways to fund infrastructure investment without tax increases, according to AP News and others.

At the 10th anniversary ceremony for the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial held at the National Mall in Washington DC that day, President Biden lamented to half of the Republicans who still refuse to accept the election results, saying, "I am not your president. Donald Trump is still your president."