Trump, chairman of corporate America
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
To President Trump's many roles, formal and self-designated, add a new one to the list: chairman of all boards.
The big picture: The president has assumed a quasi-authority to orchestrate how the private sector operates, both broadly and down to the management and ownership of individual companies.
- No one's stopping him, so he continues to confidently plow ahead.
- Those with insight into his strategy say it's anything but arbitrary — there's a mold-breaking calculus at play, they say, centered on national security and American competitiveness.
The latest: The director of the National Economic Council, Kevin Hassett, told CNBC Monday morning the government's new stake in Intel was a "down payment" on the creation of a sovereign wealth fund, adding it was "absolutely right" that Trump would seek more such investments.
- Trump told reporters yesterday "I want to try and get as much as I can." He later added: "I hope I'm going to have many more cases like it."
- In other words, if you're a private company, you may soon be invited to sell a chunk of your business to the government, even at the cost of diluting existing shareholders.
There are plenty of other examples this year of Trump telling businesses how to do business:
- 💰 Chip companies that wanted to do business in China being ordered to hand over 15% of their revenue to get export licenses.
- 📲 Apple being squeezed for another $100 billion investment commitment to avoid huge tariffs for not making its phones in the U.S.
- 🏭 U.S. Steel having to hand over a golden share to Trump's personal control to reverse the rejection of its sale to Nippon Steel.
- ⚖️ Law firms being ordered to hand over free services to the government to avoid being pursued over their past work.
It's not just private industry, either — sports and entertainment businesses are also getting pushed around.
- 🏈 Trump threatened to derail the Washington Commanders' new stadium deal unless the team changed its name back to the Redskins.
- ⚾️ He demanded the Baseball Hall of Fame include Pete Rose, and more recently, Roger Clemens, too.
- 📺 ABC and NBC are now being threatened with losing their various local broadcast licenses because Trump doesn't like their reporting on him.
What they're saying: Business interests say the biggest problem, above all else, is clarity — something that's been in short supply this year between tariffs, policy changes and the like.
- "Businesses need certainty for planning. That's why they like clear rules of the road," Neil Bradley, chief policy officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, told Axios recently.
Between the lines: It's hard to be certain, or plan for the future, if you don't know when or how the president of the United States will turn the might of the government against you.
- The only answer, for now, and for lack of any serious congressional or judicial opposition, may be to simply accept your fate.
- "Giving the White House a win on something has forever been a good strategy," Michael Robinson, CEO of the Montgomery Strategies Group, a strategic communications and public affairs firm, recently told Axios's Emily Peck and Axios Communicators' Eleanor Hawkins.
Reality check: There's little immediate evidence to suggest Trump's pushing around of corporate America is having a negative effect.
- Stocks are up sharply this year, companies are handily beating earnings expectations, and the economy is growing.
- Even Intel shares rose Monday, despite the government making its investment at a sharp discount.
- That said, Congress has not actually approved the creation of a sovereign wealth fund, and it's unclear whether one will come to fruition.
For the record: "The American people gave President Trump a resounding mandate to Make America Wealthy Again, and President Trump is committed to using every tool in his toolbelt to deliver on this mandate. The Administration is simultaneously pushing free market policies – such as rapid deregulation and The One Big Beautiful Bill's tax cuts – to restore America as the world's most dynamic economy while rectifying America Last policies to finally safeguard our national and economic security," White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement.
What to watch: The question is what happens if and when Trump's involvement in corporate affairs gets even deeper.
- Less than a fifth of the way through his second presidency, the impact of his influence is only just starting to be seen.
