MAGA-aligned marketplace burns $160 million in humiliating flame-out

It’s a bad day for a marketplace backed by the Trump family, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Online marketplace PublicSquare, created as a MAGA-aligned alternative with Donald Trump Jr.’s backing, is now facing severe financial difficulties and a 99 percent collapse in its share price, according to BGNES.

“Despite initial expectations, the conservative marketplace failed to gain traction, resulting in cumulative losses of nearly $160 million from the start of its stock trading in 2023 through the end of July this year,” reports BGNES.

Trump Jr. lauded the company's debut on the New York Stock Exchange in 2023 as an “anti-woke marketplace” aimed at conservative, “patriotic and religious consumers.” But apparently the market and investors didn’t think much of politics. The business model soon unraveled, leaving the company at risk of being delisted.

This year, PublicSquare announced that it was abandoning e-commerce in favor of financial technology, including cutting 41 percent of its workforce and cancelling a streaming program.

And, typically, of many star-driven business, BGNES reports company's financial difficulties are linked to princely consultancy costs.

“Since 2024, shortly after Donald Trump won the presidential election, the West Palm Beach, Florida-based company had been paying Trump Jr. $42,000 a month in consultancy fees. Last year, the president’s son earned more than the company's then-chief executive, while in 2025 he received more than $500,000,” reports BGNES. “Former Trump administration official Nick Ayers and a firm run by Trump Jr. ally Omeed Malik also received hundreds of thousands of dollars in consultancy fees.”

According to financial filings, the company’s net losses have “significantly exceeded revenue” — $57.6 million in 2024 and $36.6 million in 2025.