For decades, Donald Trump built a business reputation by making bold bets that others were too timid to make. From skyscrapers that reshaped city skylines to golf courses that turned barren wasteland into luxury destinations, he made a career spotting hidden value where the self-proclaimed experts saw only risk. Now President Trump has brought that same instinct to the White House by placing a massive bet on the future of American technology.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration announced that it had negotiated a nearly 10 percent stake in Intel, one of America’s most storied and successful technology companies. But the deal did not simply shower the company with new taxpayer money, as Washington is apt to do; instead, the administration converted funds that had already been granted to Intel with no strings attached under the Biden administration into an equity position. This new arrangement represents a better deal for the public.
More specifically, under the Biden-era CHIPS and Science Act and various other federal support programs for semiconductor manufacturers, Intel was set to get about $9.9 billion in taxpayer funding. But instead of just handing that money over, Trump negotiated a deal where the funds would instead purchase shares of Intel at a discounted price of $20.47 per share, well below where the stock had been trading. And it didn’t cost taxpayers another penny.
Even many conservatives were initially skeptical of the deal, fearing that it represented a step toward a socialist-style command economy. But under the structure of the deal, the government’s shares are passive, meaning that it won’t have board seats or voting rights.
Importantly, however, a special provision of the deal allows the government to purchase additional shares at an even more discounted price if Intel reduces its semiconductor manufacturing output below a certain threshold. This creates a major incentive for Intel to continue accelerating its semiconductor manufacturing, which is a major national security interest for the United States.
The pundits scoffed until the numbers came in. Within just a few weeks, Intel shares surged to around $30 per share – a stunning 50 percent gain for the American people. As of when this article went to print, Intel shares were up even further, to around $34 per share. The “reckless gamble” that the critics mocked has been revealed as yet another Trump masterstroke.
What is most remarkable about the Intel deal is not just the short-term windfall but the larger strategic shift it represents. For decades, Washington’s idea of economic development was little more than corporate welfare: throw billions in subsidies at multinational corporations and hope they create jobs or raise wages – but without any real requirement to do so. As a result, the companies often pocketed the cash, bought back shares of their own stock, outsourced production, and betrayed American workers.
Trump is pioneering an entirely new model that insists the American people share directly in the upside when their money is on the line. It is a model of economic nationalism built on the belief that when the American people risk their capital (or rather, the government risks their capital for them) they deserve to share in the rewards.
Trump’s logic is simple: when U.S. industries are supported for national security reasons, the public, through elected representatives, must retain some measure of influence over the decisions of that industry. Additionally, when American innovation financed by public dollars is sold abroad, taxpayers should get a cut of the profits.
Trump’s negotiations to take “golden shares” in U.S. Steel as a condition for approving the company’s sale to Japan’s Nippon Steel was another example of this ingenious strategy. That deal gave the president unprecedented authority over some company decisions on national security grounds, including the ability to block the closure of existing manufacturing plants and block the offshoring of jobs and factories. In September, President Trump exercised his golden share authority to veto the company’s plan to cease production at an Illinois plant, saving 800 high-paying blue-collar jobs.
Or look at Nvidia, the world’s most valuable chipmaker. Under Trump’s vision, the United States will collect a cut of every sale Nvidia makes in China. Instead of allowing a corporation to get rich selling advanced technology to a strategic rival, Trump is ensuring that those exports return real dollars to the U.S. Treasury to continue funding innovation that keeps America ahead of Beijing.
The administration isn’t stopping there. News reports indicate Trump’s team is also seeking a 10 percent stake in Lithium Americas, the operator of what will soon become the nation’s largest lithium mine. Lithium is a critical national security concern given its use in lithium-ion batteries, which power electronics used in every sector of the modern world, including the military.
Once again, taxpayers would not be on the hook for additional dollars to acquire the stake. Instead, the administration is looking to convert a $2 billion loan the company received from the Department of Energy during the Biden administration into an equity position. The company’s stock price briefly doubled following the news.
Taken together, these moves signal a fundamental transformation of American economic policy. Where past presidents begged corporations to invest, Trump is forcing a new bargain: if you want access to public support, you must give the American people a share of your success.
This is a wholesale reversal of the old order. For decades, Washington elites operated under the belief that government’s role in promoting economic growth was to subsidize corporations even if they shipped jobs overseas or empowered our adversaries. Trump has blown up that consensus. In its place he is building a system that acknowledges that the purpose of a nation’s government and economy is to serve its people.
Trump’s model is really just everyday common sense, but it took his business genius to break through decades of failure and prove that it can work.
Trump’s critics will keep sneering, but results speak louder than ridicule. In one bold stroke after another, he has shown that government can demand accountability, taxpayers can earn real returns, and America’s economy can once again create opportunity for the American people rather than the global elite.
More than anything, President Trump has proven that he never lost the instincts that made him famous. He still understands better than anyone the Art of the Deal – and this time, the American people are his partners in profit.
Mike Marlowe is the pen name of a writer based in Texas.
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