Rubbish Check
Forbes Business · 23 August 2026
source“Trump Made Big Stock Trades In SpaceX, Palantir And Tech Companies In June”
R2/ 10
Lightly altered
Rubbish Rating — 1 = base fact, 10 = pure rubbish
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In short
Rubbish Talk rates Forbes' claim that Trump made "big stock trades" in SpaceX and Palantir a 2/10 because the underlying Office of Government Ethics filing confirms over 1,000 June transactions worth between $78.1 million and $263.1 million, with the SpaceX and Palantir trades named in the headline both documented in the disclosure.
The Verdict
Lightly altered. The headline's naming of SpaceX and Palantir out of over 1,000 trades is a selective spotlight, but both purchases are real, dated, and disclosed in the primary filing, and the piece immediately backs the claim with specifics rather than burying context.
What actually happened
An Office of Government Ethics filing published on a Saturday showed President Trump's accounts made more than 1,000 stock transactions in June, according to the most recent disclosure form. Reporting confirmed this filing showed transactions valued at between $78.1 million and $263.1 million, according to the filing published Saturday by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, with ranges used because federal disclosures report transaction ranges rather than exact amounts.
Key facts
- Over 1,000 individual trades disclosed for June, per the OGE filing.
- Total value of those transactions: $78.1 million to $263.1 million (range disclosure, not exact figures).
- Trump bought SpaceX stock worth $15,001 to $50,000 on June 23, about 11 days after its IPO.
- Palantir was sold twice (including up to $1 million on June 18) and bought three times (including $100,001 to $250,000 on June 24).
- Largest single trade: a June 22 Vanguard ETF sale of $5 million to $25 million.
- The White House says trades follow "computer-based model portfolios that automatically replicate recognized indexes, such as the Schwab 1000," while Eric Trump has said the president has no role in "selecting, directing, approving, influencing or soliciting specific investments."
What to watch for
- Watch whether Democrats' push on the "unprecedented" trading volume, cited by Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Robert Garcia over an estimated 14,000 trades in 2025, produces any independent audit of the "blind trust" claim.
- Watch the SpaceX position given the company's pending satellite contracts with the government, a clear conflict-of-interest flashpoint if trades continue.
- Watch for revised or corrected transaction values in future OGE amendments, since ranges rather than exact figures leave real scale uncertain.
About this scoreThe R-Score is Rubbish Talk's editorial opinion on how far a headline's framing sits from what the underlying facts support. It is a judgement about presentation and emphasis, not an allegation that any outlet has acted dishonestly. Every figure we rely on is linked under Receipts so you can check it yourself.
