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Newsom Swings, Misses When Trying to ‘Own’ Trump Over SpaceX Stock Purchases

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Gavin Newsom posted a social media message Wednesday calling Trump’s SpaceX stock purchase “One. Big. Grift.” He was wrong about the basic facts, wrong about what the disclosure actually shows, and almost certainly wrong about whether it will help him politically. But wrong has never stopped him before. Here’s what Newsom didn’t tell you.

Fact one: Trump’s portfolio is managed by third-party financial institutions, not by Trump himself. White House spokesman Davis Ingle confirmed those institutions “replicate recognized indexes, such as the Schwab 1000.” SpaceX lobbied index providers to include its shares before listing — which means when SpaceX entered major indexes after its IPO, it landed automatically in virtually every passive investment portfolio that tracks those indexes. Including Trump’s. Including, almost certainly, millions of ordinary Americans’. Newsom is calling the automatic, third-party replication of an index purchase a “grift.” He knew this or he should have.

Fact two: Trump lost money. SpaceX shares were added to the portfolio around June 23 at approximately $150 per share. They closed at $135 Monday. If Trump had been running an insider trading scheme through SpaceX, he’s the worst insider trader in the history of markets. The stock went down.

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