When the Democrats can't get what they want, a Republican chump comes along who does it for them.
The power of existing businesses will only get stronger thanks to Trump, so mum's the word.
The Trump administration’s portfolio of equity stakes in U.S.
companies has reached a scale that is unprecedented outside economic
crisis or wartime....
“It is a invisible barrier to startups and new market entrants,” said
Scott Lincicome, an international trade lawyer affiliated with Cato
Institute. “Why would you ever want to enter a market that you know your
chief competitor is backed by the U.S. government?”...
The Trump administration’s approach is a major ideological departure
for the Republican Party, which has traditionally championed free market
capitalism and excoriated government intervention. The Democrats have
typically been the party of industrial policy and intervention in
markets.
Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, for example, introduced an amendment to Biden’s
CHIPS Act that would have allowed the government to take stakes in
companies that accept federal funding for semiconductor manufacturing.
The measure ultimately died in the Senate....
Top executives have voiced virtually no public criticism of the Trump administration taking stakes....
Before the U.S. took its stake in Intel, Trump said CEO Lip-Bu Tan was
“highly conflicted” and called for his resignation over his ties to
Chinese companies. The comments sparked a brief sell-off of Intel shares....
Trump bought 433.3 million shares of Intel in August 2025 at $20.47, about $3 off its recent lows around $17.66, risking taxpayer money, not his own.
