Devin Nunes is stepping down as CEO of Trump Media & Technology Group after more than four years at the helm, a tenure marked by stark financial losses and a dramatic divergence between his personal compensation and the company’s performance.
The former California congressman announced his departure in a Truth Social post Tuesday night, saying he would focus on his role as chairman of Donald Trump’s intelligence advisory board and other ventures. His exit comes as the parent company of Truth Social grapples with over $1.1 billion in cumulative losses since going public in 2024, a period during which its stock price fell 84 percent from a debut of $58 to around $9.80.
Despite the company’s struggles, Nunes prospered personally. In 2024 alone, he received a $1 million salary, a $600,000 bonus, and stock awards valued at $46 million — a total payout that exceeded the company’s lifetime revenue of just over $10.6 million. This disconnect between executive compensation and corporate results has drawn scrutiny, particularly as Truth Social remains a marginal player in the social media landscape.
The platform, which was envisioned as a flagship in a broader Trump-backed media empire meant to rival Netflix, Amazon Web Services, and mainstream tech giants, has failed to scale beyond niche adoption. Truth Social now claims only several hundred thousand daily active users — a fraction of Elon Musk’s X, which boasts approximately 224 million — placing it 24th among social media services, just ahead of YouTube Kids.
Internal projections shared with investors at launch had forecast $3.3 billion in revenue by 2026, alongside 40 million Truth Social users and 81 million across other services like streaming and web hosting. Instead, the company launched a basic version of Truth Social and a free, ad-supported streaming service offering content largely duplicative of what’s available on YouTube. The promised web-hosting division to challenge AWS never materialized.
Donald Trump Jr., a board member at Trump Media & Technology, confirmed on Tuesday that Nunes would be succeeded by an executive formerly of Hulu, signaling a potential shift toward more conventional media operations. Nunes, a former dairy farmer turned congressman, had long been an unconventional choice to lead a tech-driven media startup, particularly one built around a single polarizing figure.
To be fair to Nunes, he inherited a venture with an ambitious but unfocused mandate: to create a “woke“-free alternative media ecosystem anchored by Trump’s influence. The concept, born out of post-January 6 grievances against mainstream platforms, lacked a coherent execution strategy. Under his leadership, the company launched products but failed to achieve the scale or innovation necessary to justify its lofty promises.
The irony is hard to ignore: a company founded to defy elitist media conglomerates ended up enriching its CEO far beyond what its actual business could sustain, while delivering a fraction of the audience and functionality it pledged. Nunes’ departure does not erase the financial record — or the questions it raises about accountability, vision, and the blurred lines between political loyalty and corporate stewardship in Trump-aligned enterprises.
Why did Devin Nunes leave his role as CEO of Trump Media & Technology?
Nunes stated he is stepping down to focus on his duties as chairman of Donald Trump’s intelligence advisory board and to pursue other ventures, according to his own Truth Social announcement and reporting from The Washington Post.
How much did Devin Nunes earn from Trump Media & Technology in 2024 compared to the company’s revenue?
In 2024, Nunes received $1 million in salary, $600,000 in bonus, and $46 million in stock awards — totaling over $47.6 million — while the company generated just over $10.6 million in revenue over its entire history since going public.