Donald Trump built his business brand on championing American free market capitalism. The great irony now is that he is seeking to redraw it by embracing greater government control over private enterprise.
That includes dictating to American companies where to invest, who they should hire and where to send a cut of the profits. Among his ever-expanding list of interventions are his warning to major car makers not to hike prices, browbeating companies into retaining factories in the United States, advising Goldman Sachs to sack its chief economist, and securing a “golden share” in US Steel as part of the approval process for its acquisition by Japan’s Nippon Steel. That deal will give the government substantial veto power over key decisions that could affect the company’s future operations.
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