Salem Media Group has executed a number of business initiatives with the son and daughter-in-law of President Donald Trump that are geared toward building a multi-platform media empire aimed at conservatives, the company said on Monday.
The strategy involves Salem Media acquiring 30 percent of MxM News, a news aggregation app developed by a startup owned by Donald Trump, Jr., which also involves a long-term agreement that the two sides work together on high-impact promotional and growth initiatives.
Salem Media has also entered into a new long-term agreement with Lara Trump, the wife of Eric Trump, that allows Salem Media to continue to distribute her podcast and involves her taking an equity stake in the business, the company affirmed.
“These aren’t just partnerships, they’re power moves,” David Santrella, the CEO of Salem Media Group, said in a statement. “Donald Trump Jr. and Lara Trump bring credibility, energy, and the kind of megaphone that moves markets and shapes public opinion. Their alignment with Salem signals a massive leap forward in our ability to lead the next era of conservative media.”
Both Trump will have “significant ownership stakes” in Salem Media, Santrella confirmed, adding that they will generate “shareholder value, which in turn will drive the stock price.”
“It’s definitely an exciting time to be a Salem shareholder,” Santrella exclaimed.
Salem Media’s stock price, like other media companies, has been affected by a number of elements, including a shift away from traditional radio — most Salem radio programs are distributed on AM stations — in favor of podcasting, an area where Salem is still relatively new.
To date, Salem’s stock price has lost nearly 37 percent of its valuation. Salem ended Monday at less than 50 cents per share, down 13 percent compared to Friday.
Salem is hoping its newfound business relationships with the Trump will effectuate a stock surge, similar to what was experienced by Newsmax two weeks ago. The company’s stock price rose skyrocketed from $10 per share to nearly $280 per share during its 48-hour debut, before settling down to around $40 per share by the end of the week.
Like other right-of-center media companies, Salem has increasingly leaned into the new Trump administration with the hope that it will earn goodwill toward the president and generate a higher interest in its businesses amongst conservatives. In January, the company hired Brad Parscale as its Chief Strategy Officer; Parscale previously worked as a campaign manager for Trump.
