The GameStop short bet controversy has sent America into the bizarro world, where Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Donald Trump Jr. all agree on something.
On Thursday, after the stock market app Robinhood halted all trading on GameStop stock, the socialist congresswoman, the conservative senator, and the son of former President Trump all unanimously derided the move.
“This is unacceptable. We now need to know more about @RobinhoodApp’s decision to block retail investors from purchasing stock while hedge funds are freely able to trade the stock as they see fit. As a member of the Financial Services Cmte, I’d support a hearing if necessary,” tweeted AOC.
“Inquiries into freezes should not be limited solely to Robinhood. This is a serious matter. Committee investigators should examine any retail services freezing stock purchases in the course of potential investigations – especially those allowing sales, but freezing purchases,” she added.
Ted Cruz retweeted AOC’s status and said, “Fully agree.”
Fully agree. 👇 https://t.co/rW38zfLYGh
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) January 28, 2021
Donald Trump Jr. was equally incensed by the move.
“It took less than a day for big tech, big government and the corporate media to spring into action and begin colluding to protect their hedge fund buddies on Wall Street. This is what a rigged system looks like, folks! #RobinHood #RedditArmy #GME #GMEtothemoon,” tweeted Don Jr.
The former president’s son also shared a post from Barstool CEO Dave Portnoy, who tweeted: “Somebody is going to have to explain to me in what world RobinhoodApp and others literally trying to force a crash by closing the open market is fair? They should all be in jail.”
“If they take down WallStreetBets, they better take down every single Wall Street hedge fund that has been endlessly using gangster tactics to make a quick buck,” the WallStreetBets chairman tweeted.
“He’s not wrong… they just aggregated enough small retail investors in an open forum to move markets just like the big guys. It’s actually amazing to watch!!!” responded Don Jr.
It took less than a day for big tech, big government and the corporate media to spring into action and begin colluding to protect their hedge fund buddies on Wall Street. This is what a rigged system looks like, folks! #RobinHood #RedditArmy #GME #GMEtothemoon https://t.co/UhrwGHCjng
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) January 28, 2021
He’s not wrong… they just aggregated enough small retail investors in an open forum to move markets just like the big guys. It’s actually amazing to watch!!! #GME #GMEtothemoon https://t.co/kfs9mZy9QI
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) January 28, 2021
As The Daily Wire reported on Thursday, the free stock trading app Robinhood halted all trading on GameStop (GME), which rose nearly 900% in just five days after the Reddit board WallStreetBets intentionally drove up the company’s stock price as a financial hit against hedge fund managers engaged in short selling.
More below:
The GameStop stock surge was orchestrated by Redditors looking to send a message to Wall Street hedge fund managers engaging in short selling. “GameStop started in January valued at $17.25 and had been heavily ‘shorted,’ meaning many Wall Street hedge-fund short-sellers expected the firm to collapse and the value to plunge with it,” Daily Wire noted.
So far, the Redditors are succeeding, according to CNBC. “Hedge fund Melvin Capital closed out its short position in GameStop on Tuesday after taking huge losses as a target of the army of retail investors. Citadel and Point72 have infused close to $3 billion into [Melvin Capital] to shore up its finances.”
Trading services and government regulators, though, have been vocal over their concern for “market volatility” related to the stock surge, and Wall Street’s hedge fund bankers seem to be panicking, based on social media posts decrying Robinhood’s democratization of the stock-trading process.