Before we dive into a discussion on Digital World Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:DWAC) stock, the controversial special purpose acquisition company that will take Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) public, it’s helpful to separate the noise from the narrative.
In other words, your personal feelings about former President Trump should not dictate your ultimate decision on DWAC stock.
Instead, it’s more productive to acknowledge the reality of the underlying situation. For instance, Trump is incredibly popular. I can’t think of any former president that had as much sway post-election than “The Donald.”
That alone is enough to warrant a look at DWAC stock. After all, we’re in a market environment where collective sentiment plays a greater role than usual.
But what is the source of Trump’s charisma? According to an opinion piece by Salon, America loves a bully. Bluntly, contributor Amanda Marcotte wrote in September 2015 that Trump is the affluent “bully who revels in his privilege and enjoys stomping on those with less unearned social power than he has. And the Republican base is eating it up.”
Granted, Salon leans left politically and the right will find Marcotte’s description of the former president ungenerous. Nevertheless, the author may be onto something, noting that conservative-leaning audiences lap up shock jocks like the late Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter.
I can tell you one thing. The country that brought the world Hollywood loves simple, digestible narratives: North versus south. Left versus right. Cowboys and Indigenous Americans.
Naturally, DWAC stock — by virtue of underlining TMTG’s Truth Social platform — caters to the binarism that dominates most social and political discourse in the U.S.
Further, when grievances both real and perceived undergird said binarism, you have an incredibly powerful, perhaps unprecedented catalyst.
Pain and Shame Will Drive DWAC Stock
You want evidence of this catalyst? Then-candidate Donald Trump was able to corral the hurt and suffering — whether real or perceived, it doesn’t matter — of his core voting base and it propelled him to the White House.
He didn’t win on the issues. Remember, when Ron Paul was vying for the Republican nomination, the conservative audience booed him for promoting an anti-interventionist stance regarding sanctions on Iran. Just a few years later, then-President Trump attempted a peace negotiation with North Korea.
From the Axis of Evil to shaking hands with Kim Jong Un, Trump’s charisma combined with America’s love for binary narratives resulted in astounding events in U.S. history. But somehow, DWAC stock is going to be a failure? It could be, don’t get me wrong but the SPAC has less of a credibility challenge to climb.
More importantly, data from the Pew Research Center shows that the underlying business of DWAC stock features a massive addressable market. To no one’s surprise, young people regularly consume news through social media platforms.
Significantly, though, two demographics — whites and the modestly educated — consume a large portion of their news through social media.
Granted, overall, Democrats dominate social media usage relative to Republicans. However, platforms like Truth Social have an opportunity to reach many under-the-radar conservatives, particularly those who feel they have been shamed and denigrated by mainstream institutions.
Again, Trump spoke to millions of Americans who felt this way and it led to powerful results. Why wouldn’t the same apply for DWAC stock?
Business Insider provided an interesting take that Generation Z is more conservative than many realize. Considering that conservative social media content creators — think alt-right channels before they got de-platformed — were outrageously successful, DWAC’s prospective investors should be licking their lips.
The Right Takeover as an Inevitability
To be clear, no guarantee exists that DWAC stock will be successful. Certainly, anti-Trump advocates on the left are doing everything they can to stymie its progress. However, in my opinion, conservative, even right-wing ideologies taking over social media and the internet is an inevitability.
Why? Liberal and progressive ideologies have become the social norm. Today, we are more socially aware across a library of issues than we ever have been. At some point, being even more liberal and more progressive yields a lower rate of return. It’s the sociological version of the law of large numbers.
But you know what will gain quicker and more robust success? Being anti-establishment, deliberately stoking politically incorrect talking points. It’s based (as the kids like to say) and it’s so entertaining because it tickles the reptilian part of our brain.
And tickling, if you think about it, is why the internet exists. Ultimately, binary audiences are easier to manipulate and thereby monetize. It’s how one old man got eviscerated for wanting to be friends with Iran but how another old man was celebrated for befriending North Korea.
Binarism. There’s no drug like it. And that’s exactly what a share of DWAC stock gets you.
On the date of publication, Josh Enomoto did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
A former senior business analyst for Sony Electronics, Josh Enomoto has helped broker major contracts with Fortune Global 500 companies. Over the past several years, he has delivered unique, critical insights for the investment markets, as well as various other industries including legal, construction management, and healthcare.
