Truth Social whistleblower now works as $16-an-hour Starbucks barista

Tom Boggioni
April 29, 2023

Photo by Tyler Nix on Unsplash

The co-founder of Donald Trump's Truth Social media platform, who turned whistleblower and is currently under government protection, is now working as a barista at Starbucks, the Washington Post is reporting.

Will Wilkerson, who expected to make millions after partnering with the former president on a rival to Twitter, now works the 5:30 a.m. shift at a Starbucks located inside a Harris Teeter grocery store in North Carolina for $16 an hour which he calls, "...an honest day’s work."

As the Post previously reported, Wilkerson turned over "150,000 emails, contracts and other internal documents to the Securities and Exchange Commission and investigators in Florida and New York."

That report added, "Promoted as the centerpiece of Trump’s post-presidential business ambitions, the company had marketed itself as a budding media empire, with enterprises planned in social media, video streaming, live events and online payments — a powerful rival not just to Twitter but Disney, Google and Amazon,. But inside the company, Wilkerson said, those plans gave way to bitter infighting, technical failures and a chaotic jockeying for power among Trump allies that undermined its potential and left some employees crying at their desks."

RELATED: Truth Social execs facing financial catastrophe as deadline looms

After accusing executives at Truth Social of breaking SEC laws, Wilkerson was unceremoniously fired, with the company explaining he had “concocted psychodramas.”

The Post report adds, "The company’s attempt to merge with a financial outfit known as a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, has been frozen for months due to a pending SEC investigation that predates Wilkerson’s public comments and has blocked the company’s ability to unlock a critical source of cash."

As for Wilkerson now, "he said in an interview, almost no one seemed to know anything about the whole ordeal. He explained his situation to one person, his direct supervisor, who he said is a 'very sweet lady, but she doesn’t really understand the legal system in the United States, you know, and what that means.'"

LONG READ AT WASHINGTON POST You can read more here.