US President Joe Biden cracked a joke at Donald Trump’s expense on Tuesday, mocking the former president’s financial struggles as the value of his media company continues to plunge.
“If Trump’s stock in Truth Social ― his company ― drops any lower, he might do better under my tax plan than his,” Biden said in Pennsylvania, causing the audience to erupt with laughter:
Trump Media & Technology Group Corp., which went public last month, once hit nearly $80 (£64) a share, briefly putting Trump on the Bloomberg Billionaire Index of the world’s richest 500 people.
Since then, however, shares have tanked, closing at $22.84 (£18.32) on Tuesday. Because Trump owns about 60% of the company’s stock, his net worth has plunged as well ― and he’s already lost his spot on the billionaire index.
The shares have been on a steep decline since the company revealed in an SEC filing two weeks ago that it earned just $4.1 million (£3.29m) in revenue last year while losing more than $58 million (£46.5 million). The filing also contains ominous words from an auditor, who said there is “a substantial doubt” that the company can “continue as a going concern.”
Biden cracked another joke at Trump’s expense, breaking out a line he’s used at other recent events that also refers to the former president’s financial struggles.
“Just the other day, a defeated-looking guy came up to me and asked if I could help. He was drowning in debt,” Biden said. “I said, ‘I’m sorry, Donald, but I can’t help you.’”
Trump has been hit with nearly half a billion dollars in fines, fees, interest and other penalties as a result of his recent legal defeats.
He’s currently appealing those decisions.