Trump Publicly Supports Palantir Technologies
President Donald Trump recently did something quite unusual for a sitting president—he directly endorsed a publicly traded company. In a post on Truth Social, he praised Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR), a defense tech firm, leading to a quick turnaround in its stock price.
In his post, he stated, “Palantir Technologies (PLTR) has proven to have superior combat capabilities and equipment. Ask our enemies!!! President DJT.” This came at the end of a challenging week for stocks, during which Palantir’s shares had dropped between 14% and 16%. On Friday alone, they fell 6% before Trump’s remarks. Almost instantly, the stock began to climb, gaining about 3% from an initial price of roughly $123. However, it ended the day at $128.06.
Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.) pointed out the potential implications of Trump’s post, questioning on X whether it constituted blatant market manipulation. He included a screenshot of Trump’s message in his query.
While Trump’s involvement did seem to create a brief stir, the stock’s previous decline was more closely tied to concerns about Anthropic rather than Trump’s endorsement. Specifically, on April 7, Anthropic unveiled Claude Mythos Preview, an advanced AI model intended for a cybersecurity initiative. Although this model was shared with just 52 organizations and was not publicly available, it caught investors off guard. They had assumed that companies like Palantir would remain insulated from such disruptions.
The situation worsened when the Pentagon blacklisted Anthropic in March because of safety concerns over its AI model. This led Palantir to remove the Claude model from its Maven Smart Systems platform, a critical part of its military AI services. The restructuring served as a wake-up call regarding Palantir’s reliance on a single AI provider.
Investor Michael Varley, known for his role in “The Big Short,” added fuel to the fire by posting, then deleting, a claim that “Anthropic is eating Palantir’s lunch.” He supported this assertion with data showing that Anthropic’s business had drastically increased among companies on the Ramp platform.
By the close on Thursday, Palantir’s stock was down about 28% for the year and roughly 38% off its 52-week high of $207.52, reached in November 2025. The scrutiny on Trump’s post also stemmed from the close ties between his administration and Palantir. Co-founded by Peter Thiel, a prominent donor to Trump, the company has received significant attention for its political connections. CEO Alex Karp has also made substantial donations to Trump’s campaigns.
The financial relations seem mutually beneficial; Palantir’s federal contracts nearly doubled recently, from $541 million in fiscal year 2024 to $970.5 million in fiscal year 2025. Additionally, a directive from Deputy Secretary of Defense Steve Feinberg could solidify Palantir’s position in long-term defense budgets if completed by September.
Critics noted that Trump’s public endorsement of Palantir may not just be a casual remark but could have deeper implications. A watchdog group highlighted the potential for an attempt to artificially boost stock prices through such public endorsements.
In contrast, some analysts, like Dan Ives, argue that Palantir remains a sound investment, touting its impressive revenue growth despite skepticism from others. Meanwhile, Varley remains adamant, keeping long-term bearish options on Palantir’s stock and labeling it “hugely overvalued.”
This isn’t the first time Trump has influenced market movement; he has done so before by announcing geopolitical developments through social media, resulting in immediate effects on various markets.
The topic has also raised questions among lawmakers about the ethics of stock market involvement, with some Congress members reporting their transactions involving Palantir. Given the prevailing ambiguity regarding insider trading laws for sitting presidents, the conversation around these actions is likely to continue.
