But two people familiar with the dispute, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private details, said the lack of payment had fuelled anger that Trump could shortchange a champion of his “free speech” mission.

The Trump company and RightForge have been communicating with each other exclusively through attorneys in recent weeks, the people said. Digital World Acquisition’s stock slid Friday about 7 per cent.

Trump’s businesses have faced many similar payment battles over the years. In past SEC filings, Digital World has also noted that “a number of companies that were associated with [Trump] have filed for bankruptcy” and that “there can be no assurances that [Trump’s media company] will not also become bankrupt.”

In fact, Digital World’s filings have been consistently downbeat on the likelihood that Truth Social will be a success. Trump’s company “may never generate any operating revenues or ever achieve profitable operations,” it said in May, and if it is “unsuccessful in addressing [its] risks, its business will most likely fail.”

In June, Digital World said it had been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury and was facing investigations from both the Justice Department and the SEC that could delay its merger with Trump’s firm. The deal, initially planned for this year, is now indefinitely frozen.

Digital World also has said in filings that Trump’s social network will need millions of people to “regularly use” it for the site to achieve commercial success.

Loading

But Trump, the site’s most popular user, has fewer than 4 million followers, and the site’s most active trending topics, including #DefundTheFBI, have shown only a few thousand people posting to them in recent days, data from the site shows. For comparison, Twitter says it has about 37 million people in the US actively using the site every day.

Truth Social has become a common sounding board for pro-Trump discussion and outrage. An armed man who was killed after failing to storm an FBI office in Cincinnati had been a frequent user of Truth Social, urging followers in posts to “kill” FBI agents “on sight,” according to a profile that matched the suspect’s name, location and photograph.

But in the days since the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, Truth Social’s viewership has slowed, according to traffic estimates from Similarweb, an online analytics firm. Its US audience has tumbled to about 300,000 views a day, down from nearly 1.5 million on the day of its launch.

While the site’s reputation suffered after its February launch was marred by fake accounts, a long wait list and other technical glitches, that time also marked the peak of the site’s online popularity, the estimates show.

Trump faces Justice Department investigations into his role in the January 6 riots at the US Capitol and into how he handled classified documents after losing the presidency. Civil investigators in New York are digging into the Trump Organisation, his longtime real estate and licensing firm.

Loading

Even his hiring of former Republican congressman Devin Nunes, a staunch Trump ally, to be the company’s chief executive faces scrutiny. Magistrate Judge William Matthewman in West Palm Beach ruled earlier this month that Trump Media must provide information regarding Nunes’ employment to Hearst Magazine Media and journalist Ryan Lizza, whom Nunes has sued for defamation.

Nunes, who assumed his post in January, currently makes $US750,000 a year and is scheduled for a raise, after two years, to $US1 million, Digital World filings show.