Dear John,
Trump Media is a terrible bet for workers' pensions – and a dangerous use of public money.
Millions of teachers, firefighters, and public workers became unwilling investors in Trump Media — the parent company of Truth Social — when it was added to the Russell 2000 Index last year. As a result, public pension funds across the country are now propping up a political vanity project that’s bleeding money.
Trump Media lost $401 million last year on just $3.6 million in revenue. That’s not a business model. That’s throwing workers' retirement futures into a bottomless money pit.
The company’s auditors have issued “going concern” warnings — a red flag that the company may not survive. The stock price swings wildly depending not on business fundamentals, but on Donald Trump’s political fortunes.
Public pension funds are supposed to be safe, responsible investments. Trump Media is anything but.
To be clear: this is the same Donald Trump who’s presided over six corporate bankruptcies, wiping out workers’ savings and walking away from the wreckage. Now, he owns 57% of Truth Social, and any investment in this company is a direct infusion of public funds into Trump’s empire of corruption, conflict, and instability.
Send a direct message to governors and state legislators to demand that they protect public pensions — and say no to Trump’s financial house of cards.
Public employees shouldn’t have to bankroll political propaganda or sketchy grifting schemes just to earn a pension. These funds exist to secure workers’ retirements — not to subsidize vanity platforms masquerading as businesses.
We’re calling on governors and state legislators to act:
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Prohibit state pensions from investing in companies mostly controlled by politicians
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Exclude companies with “going concern” warnings or severe ESG violations
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Give workers Trump-free investment options
There is precedent. States like California already require pension funds to divest from companies without climate plans. Now it’s time to protect workers from political and financial grifts.
Tell your governor and state legislators to protect public pensions from investments that support grifting politicians.
Thank you for helping give state workers retirement options that align with their values.
Robert Reich
Inequality Media Civic Action
