MW Ryan Cohen reiterates support for Donald Trump ahead of former president's RNC speech
By James Rogers
Game Stop CEO Ryan Cohen has again posted on X supporting Donald Trump
GameStop Corp. Chief Executive Ryan Cohen reiterated his support for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump late Wednesday, just days after endorsing him.
Trump is expected to address the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Thursday evening to formally accept the nomination for President. The speech will be his first since Saturday's assassination attempt.
A post from GameStop $(GME)$ chief Cohen on X late Wednesday features the word "TRUMP" hundreds of times.
Related: 'Damn, even Ryan's endorsing Trump': Social media reacts as GameStop CEO Cohen backs Donald Trump
Late Saturday, shortly after the assassination attempt, Cohen endorsed Trump with a succinct "Trump 2024" post on X, sparking plenty of reaction on social media.
Other prominent figures that have endorsed Trump include Tesla Inc. $(TSLA)$ CEO Elon Musk, billionaire hedge funder Bill Ackman, and Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, the founders of VC firm Andreessen Horowitz. "I'm going to have a lot of friends who are probably p****d off at me for saying anything nice about President Trump," said Horowitz, in a podcast with Andreessen this week. "But the future of our business, the future of technology, new technology, and the future of America is literally at stake - so here we are, and for little tech, we think Donald Trump is actually the right choice."
"Sorry mom," he added. "I know you're going to be mad at me for this, but, like, we had to do it."
Related: From Trump's DJT social-media stock to crypto plays, here's what rose after assassination attempt on former president
Earlier this week Trump chose Ohio's junior senator, J.D. Vance, as his running mate. Trump's choice has piqued interest in what his prospective new administration could mean for the tech sector. Vance has experience in venture capital, where he worked alongside influential billionaire investor Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal Holdings Inc. (PYPL), Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR) and Founders Fund.
Chewy Inc. $(CHWY)$ co-founder and former CEO Cohen was named GameStop's CEO in September 2023, marking the latest chapter in his attempt to breathe life into the videogame retailer, arguably the original meme stock. In December, GameStop's board of directors approved a new investment policy permitting the company to invest in equity securities, among other investments. The board gave Cohen the authority to manage the investment portfolio.
Last year, Cohen launched a stinging attack on corporate America during the company's annual shareholder meeting.
Related: This is what a Trump White House could mean for tech M&A, Tesla and tariffs
GameStop shares are up 0.3% in premarket trades after ending Wednesday's session down 2%.
The stock is up 59.6% in 2024, outpacing the S&P 500 index's SPX gain of 17.2%.
-James Rogers
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July 18, 2024 08:07 ET (12:07 GMT)
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