US President Donald Trump’s latest annual financial disclosure has triggered fresh scrutiny. A CNN investigation found that Trump promoted more than 20 companies on his Truth Social account within days of purchasing their stock. In several instances, he also announced government actions that could benefit the same companies he had recently invested in.
Inside the investigation
Trump’s full list of stock trades was recently made public through his annual financial disclosure. CNN used artificial intelligence to compare those trades with Trump’s Truth Social posts, identifying instances where he mentioned companies whose stocks he had recently bought or sold. These results were then reviewed manually for relevance.
Which stocks did he endorse?
NVIDIA: On 15 April 2025, Trump took to Truth Social and posted: ” COMMITS 500 BILLION DOLLARS TO BUILD A.I. SUPERCOMPUTERS, PLUS, IN THE UNITED STATES, EXCLUSIVELY. This is very big and exciting news. All necessary permits will be expedited and quickly delivered to NVIDIA, as they will to all companies committing to be part of the Golden Age of America!”
However, he reportedly invested between $200,000 and $500,000 in NVIDIA stock days earlier.
Micron: Trump’s annual financial disclosure also showed that, through May, he sold shares worth between $90,000 and $3.7 million while buying between $246,000 and $3.7 million in NVIDIA stock.
Despite reducing his Micron holdings, he later described the chipmaker as a “hot stock” on Truth Social while its shares were under pressure. Taking to his Truth Social, Trump posted: “BIG NEWS! Micron, a truly GREAT American Company, and one of the “HOTTEST” anywhere in the World, has announced a HISTORIC $250 MILLION Investment in TRUMP ACCOUNTS. This incredible gesture, made by Micron’s fantastic CEO, Sanjay Mehrotra, will make many children extremely happy some day in the not too distant future.”
“Our Country is doing far better than any country, anywhere in the World, and Companies like Micron are proving it every single day. THIS IS THE GOLDEN AGE OF AMERICA!,” he added.
Tesla: Trump made one of his largest individual purchases of the year on 23 July 2025. He bought between $500,000 and $1 million in the company’s stock. A day later, he sent a Truth Social post de-escalating the feud with Elon Musk. “Everyone is stating that I will destroy Elon’s companies by taking away some, if not all, of the large scale subsidies he receives from the U.S. Government. This is not so! I want Elon, and all businesses within our Country, to THRIVE, in fact, THRIVE like never before! The better they do, the better the USA does, and that’s good for all of us. We are setting records every day, and I want to keep it that way!,” he posted.
American Eagle: Reportedly, Trump purchased between $15,000 and $50,000 in stock in the clothing retailer American Eagle Outfitters on 31 July. Four days later, he wrote a post on Truth Social complimenting the brand’s ad featuring the actress . Trump’s post read: “Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the “HOTTEST” ad out there. It’s for American Eagle, and the jeans are “flying off the shelves.” Go get ‘em Sydney!”
The CNN investigation claims that Trump promoted over 20 companies on his Truth Social account soon after he bought shares of those companies. The report further adds that at times, he also announced government actions that could benefit the companies he just invested in.
What is the White House saying?
The White House has denied that Trump has ever used his office for personal financial gain. It claims that all of his stock trades are handled by independent financial managers and that neither Trump nor his family has any control over the transactions.
Quoting White House spokesperson Anna Kelly, CNN reports that Trump’s assets are “held in fully discretionary accounts managed by independent third-party financial institutions. President Trump only acts in the best interests of the American public – which is why they overwhelmingly re-elected him to this office, despite years of lies and false accusations against him and his businesses from the fake news media. There are no conflicts of interest.”
However, unlike many previous presidents, Trump has not placed his assets in a blind trust, meaning he can know which stocks his money managers are buying or selling, the report added. It remains unclear whether he was aware of any of the trades when he posted about those companies on Truth Social.
