WASHINGTON--The two Southern tech entrepreneurs had the two qualities that Donald Trump’s Truth Social startup needed: tech-industry expertise and a politically conservative worldview aligned with the former president, a rare combination in the liberal-leaning industry centered in San Francisco.
Josh Adams and Billy Boozer - the company’s chiefs of technology and product development - joined the venture last year and quickly became central players in its bid to build a social-media empire, backed by Trump’s powerful brand, to counter what many conservatives deride as “cancel culture” censorship from the left. Less than a year later, both have resigned their senior posts at a critical juncture for the company’s smartphone-app release plans, according to two sources familiar with the venture.
The departures followed the troubled launch of the company’s iPhone app on Feb. 20. Weeks later, many users remain on a waiting list, unable to access the platform. Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) Chief Executive Devin Nunes, a former Republican congressman, said publicly that the company aimed to make the app fully operational within the United States by the end of March.
The company has an app for iPhones but no app for Android phones, which comprise more than 40% of the U.S. market, though the company has advertised seeking an engineer to build one.
Boozer declined to comment and Adams did not respond to a request. Representatives for TMTG and Trump did not respond to requests for comment. This account is based on Reuters interviews with eight people with knowledge of Truth Social’s activities, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity.
Truth Social is part of a growing sector of tech firms catering to conservatives and marketing themselves as free-speech champions. The platform promised to give Trump unfettered communication with the American public more than a year after he was kicked off Twitter, Facebook and YouTube for allegedly inciting or glorifying violence during the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol.
The exit of two executives critical to the app-launch efforts could imperil the company’s progress as it tries to prove it can compete with mainstream platforms such as Twitter, said two people familiar with the company. Like Twitter, Trump’s platform offers users the chance to connect and share their thoughts.
“If Josh has left… all bets are off,” one of those sources said of tech chief Adams, calling him the “brains” behind Truth Social’s technology.
Another source familiar with the venture said that Boozer also had a major leadership role as product chief, running management across technology infrastructure, design and development teams.
Reuters could not determine the specific circumstances behind the executives’ resignations, or whether they have been replaced or their duties reassigned. It also remains unclear whether Adams and Boozer still work on the venture in a different capacity after quitting their executive posts.
Their resignations came before their key roles in the closely watched company were even publicly known outside of Truth Social’s secretive culture. Adams and Boozer worked at a level just below Wes Moss and Andy Litinsky, both former castmates on “The Apprentice,” Trump’s hit reality TV show, according to a source familiar with the venture.
Moss and Litinsky have been the “senior, day-to-day leadership” running the company since it started last summer, the source said. The two men had pitched Trump on the social-media venture in January of 2021, according to a person familiar with the company’s founding.
Reuters could not determine the specific job titles or responsibilities of Moss and Litinsky, neither of whom responded to requests for comment. TMTG has released little information about its executive leadership team outside of CEO Nunes, who joined in December.
