Wall Street Soars as Investors Dump Trump and MAGA-Linked Stocks

The stock market saw a clear rebound following the Democrats’ victory in Tuesday’s midterm elections, while investors shed shares in companies associated with the “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) movement, such as “Trump Media” and “SpaceX.”

On Wednesday morning, the S&P 500 index was up 1.8%—marking its best single-day performance in three months—in the wake of the Democrats taking control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate during the midterm elections. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by approximately 3%.

Conversely, shares of “Trump Media”—which operates the “Truth Social” platform—plummeted by more than 16%, hitting an all-time intraday low; by Wednesday afternoon, the stock was trading at around $4.99. This decline comes amid a tumultuous year for the company, which has lost 62% of its value since the start of the year.

Former President Donald Trump holds a 41% stake in “Trump Media.” According to Forbes magazine, his net worth—estimated at $6.5 billion—dropped by $73 million on Wednesday due to the decline in the stock price.

According to The Wall Street Journal, several other stocks linked to the Trump family also took a hit.

Shares of “Unusual Machines”—a manufacturer of drone components backed, among others, by Donald Trump Jr.—fell by 13%. Shares of “PSQ Holdings,” an e-commerce platform in which Donald Trump Jr. is a major investor and board member, also fell by more than 4%.

It was also a difficult day for Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX. Shares in both companies fell by approximately 3% each, as the election results proved disappointing for the tech billionaire, despite the record sums he had spent to support certain candidates.

Musk—currently the world’s wealthiest person—poured $474 million into supporting Republican Party candidates; this marks the largest amount ever contributed by a single donor in a U.S. election cycle.

A significant portion of these funds was directed toward a Texas Senate race—in the state where both SpaceX and Tesla are headquartered—which pitted Republican Ken Paxton against Democrat James Talarico.

However, Musk’s gamble ended in failure: Talarico became the first Democrat to win a seat in the Texas Senate since 1988. Furthermore, the state saw the election of Gina Hinojosa, who became the first Democratic governor in the state in over 30 years.

Meanwhile, shares in companies linked to data centers and the defense sector—notably Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman—also declined, likely in anticipation of stricter regulations and potential cuts to the Pentagon budget, given that Democrats now control Congress.