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Trump is targeting the free market and American exceptionalism

6 20
02.09.2025

Ironically, the president who campaigned on “making America great again” is taking aim at the very foundations of what makes the U.S. economy truly great.

Indeed, in recent weeks, the Trump administration has taken — or discussed taking — multiple actions that threaten to jam up America’s economic engine.

As midterms approach, Trump’s corporate statism should also give moderate Democrats a roadmap to follow: Return to their free market roots and put forward a growth-centric agenda.

In that same vein, Trump is also setting a dangerous precedent Republicans may come to regret. Future presidents may now feel free to intervene and force other companies to advance their own partisan goals such as climate change.

Further, with Trump’s economic approval sitting at a net minus-12 points (42 percent approve versus 54 percent disapprove) according to the RealClearPolitics aggregator, the chaos he is introducing could exacerbate already negative sentiment.

Plainly, Trump should be advancing an agenda centered on economic growth and free markets, yet his recent actions more closely resemble China than any Republican economic agenda.

First, the White House inked a deal with semiconductor giants Nvidia and AMD.

In exchange for export licenses to send chips to China, the government will get 15 percent of China-derived revenues.

Then, after demanding that Intel’s CEO step down, ostensibly due to his alleged ties to the Chinese military, the administration unveiled a 10 percent stake in the struggling company.

As Barron’s reported, Trump’s Intel plan was once floated by Sens.........

© The Hill