The Truth Social flotation is a gamble on the part of DJT

The ex-president may ultimately regret asking his supporters for their money as well as their vote, writes Chris Blackhurst With one bound, he is free. So goes the story of Donald Trump.

One moment, the former president is a commercial busted flush, drowning in lawsuits over his business and tax affairs and facing the distinctly possible threat of having to sell his eponymous properties across North America or his beloved

Mar-a-Lago country club in Palm Beach. The next moment, he is soaring up the wealth charts, on his way to reclaiming a spot as one of the world’s richest men. It’s unreal. But then, not much about Trump ever does turn out to be real.

He trades in empty boasts and falsehoods. He’s got where he is by stirring a whirlwind of activity. Stopping would risk exposure; better to keep spinning. So it is with his bounceback. His Truth Social platform suddenly has a market valuation, as I write, of $13bn (£10.3bn). No matter it is loss-making; no matter it has no track record.

This was achieved with trademark self-promotional genius, and the clever use of a merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp. In the trade, Digital World Acquisition Corp was a SPAC (special purpose acquisition company). It was quoted, giving whoever bought it and combined with it an instant stock market listing without having to go through the usual convoluted strictures of seeking a public quote.