President Donald Trump has used the power of the presidency to become an activist investor, buying government shares in a handful of companies. Trump touts this as profitable for the country, but the dangers are real, and the benefits will mostly accrue to insiders who gain power, influence, and insider knowledge.

This is what happens when government gets entangled with industry: The big and politically connected businesses benefit, as do the politicians and bureaucrats, and the lobbyists who run between them.

IN FOCUS: TRUMP’S GOVERNMENT BY DEAL

That’s why I’ve criticized Trump’s activist investor model, his proposal for a sovereign wealth fund, his “government-by-deal,” his tendency to use “his regulatory power to extract money from corporations,” and his use of industrial policy to “force corporate executives to woo” him.

Tad DeHaven has a good piece on this problem over at the Dispatch. First, he lays out a more comprehensive list of Trump’s venture-socialism undertakings, including Nippon Steel, MP Materials, Intel, Lithium America, Trilogy Metals, Westinghouse, Vulcan Elements, and ReElement Technologies.

DeHaven discusses the dangers:

“It appears that the CEO of America Inc. and his yes-men are content to continue with the ad hoc partial nationalization wheeling and dealing.”

“What could go wrong?”

“To begin with, political ownership distorts corporate decision-making…”

“Next, when the government picks a winner to back with equity, it implicitly tilts the playing field against that firm’s competitors—including smaller firms and upstarts that now find themselves at an even greater disadvantage…”

“Targeting industries deemed vital for national defense could undermine the goals of strength and security that it professes to advance…”

“Government equity naturally increases the likelihood of a government rescue in the event of trouble.”

TIMOTHY P. CARNEY: AN AIRPORT SPECTACLE FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY

Picking winners and losers, teeing up bailouts, and weakening the very industries you’re investing in — these are all expected outcomes of Trump’s venture socialism.

But again, the big winner will be the Trump administration insiders who now have more control over industry and more ability to enrich themselves through connections to power.

, 2025-12-12 21:38:00, , Washington Examiner, %%https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cropped-favicon.png?w=32, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/feed/, Timothy P. Carney