Hear’s a breakdown of the provided text, focusing on the key entities and their relationships:
Key Entities:
Donald trump Jr.: A key figure in the narrative, described as a partner at 1789 Capital and involved in taking companies public.
Malik: Trump Jr.’s partner at 1789 Capital, also involved in taking companies public and the SPAC process.
1789 Capital: An investment firm where Trump Jr. is a partner.
PublicSquare: A platform that connects trump Jr. and Malik to companies like GrabAGun.
grabagun: A gun-seller that uses PublicSquare’s payment processing system.
PSQ Payments: GrabAGun’s payment processing system, provided by PublicSquare.
Colombier Acquisition corp. II: A SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) that Malik used to take GrabAGun public.
Elon Musk: Mentioned in relation to his public feud with President Trump, but his companies (SpaceX, Neuralink) are still invested in by 1789 Capital.
* SpaceX, Neuralink, Substack, Anduril, Plaid: Private companies that 1789 Capital invests in.
Key Relationships and actions:
- Trump Jr. and Malik’s Partnership: Trump Jr. became a partner at Malik’s investment firm, 1789 Capital, after the election. This partnership is described as the foundation for their “grand project.”
- Investment Thesis: They have been discussing their investment ideas and thesis for five years.
- Investments by 1789 Capital: Despite Elon Musk’s feud with President Trump, 1789 Capital continues to invest in Musk’s companies (SpaceX, Neuralink) and other private companies (Substack, Anduril, Plaid).
- Revelation of GrabAGun: Trump jr. and Malik became aware of GrabAGun through PublicSquare, as GrabAGun uses their payment processing system, PSQ Payments.
- Taking GrabAGun Public: Malik took GrabAGun public by merging it with his SPAC, Colombier Acquisition Corp.II. This is presented as an example of their “ecosystem” where connections through PublicSquare lead to business opportunities.
- Future Expansion Plans: Trump Jr. and Malik plan to expand their reach by picking another conservative company to connect to capital markets. They intend to do another SPAC to take a “high-profile, meaningful company” public again.
- “All-Weather Strategy”: They are banking on this strategy to sustain their business model, regardless of political changes in Washington.
- Ideological Businesses and Parallel Economy: The text questions whether the trend of “avowedly ideological businesses” and a “parallel economy inspired by the Trump movement” will be permanent or transitory.
- Welcome on Wall Street: Trump Jr. views their reception on Wall Street as a vindication of their thesis and a sign of changing times,noting a perceived “higher testosterone environment” and a lack of negative feedback.
In essence, the text describes Donald Trump Jr. and Malik’s business venture, which involves identifying and taking conservative-leaning companies public, ofen through SPACs, leveraging platforms like PublicSquare and their investment firm, 1789 Capital. They are building an “ecosystem” and aim to capitalize on a perceived shift in the financial landscape.
