Trump media nods after debate with Harris

Former President Donald Trump boasted that Tuesday’s showdown with Vice President Kamala Harris was his best debate, but Trump Media & Technology Group shareholders were less enthusiastic.

The parent company of Trump’s social media network Truth Social saw its shares fall 17% at the opening bell, sending the stock to a record low on Wednesday. The company’s shares were still trading down about 13 percent at $16.19 midday Wednesday. In March, the stock traded at $66 and hit a one-year high of $79.38.

The drop in Trump Media shares is likely related to Trump’s performance during Tuesday’s debate with Harris, during which the vice president managed to get under his skin by mentioning the size of the crowds at his rallies, his reputation among US military and foreign leaders, past bankruptcies and his conviction for the crime. On New Zealand’s online political and financial market PredictIt, Kamala Harris backed away from Trump as punters felt more confident that he would win the upcoming presidential election.

Wednesday’s plunge in Trump Media shares is the latest example of how tied the company’s value is to the former president. The stock soared 30% after Trump survived an assassination attempt and again shortly after Trump’s first debate with President Joe Biden.

However, since Biden stepped aside and Harris stepped up to take his place in the presidential race, shares of Trump Media have lost more than 50% of their value.

View this interactive chart on Fortune.com

Trump Media’s plummeting price is bad news for Trump, who owns just under 60 percent of the company and has already seen the value of his stock drop by $4 billion. Wednesday’s crash wiped out another $260 million, bringing the paper value of its holdings to about $1.9 billion.

Trump’s stock is suddenly worth much less as he nears the date he will get approval to start selling, though he has not confirmed he will definitely do so. Because of a 180-day lockout period for company insiders, Trump is barred from selling stock until the end of September, though that could be as early as next week.

Offloading some of his billions in stocks could help Trump, whose legal bills have piled up as he faces more criminal charges. Last week, a judge delayed sentencing in Trump’s so-called “hush money trial” until after the November presidential election.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com