Good morning. Fortune editor-in-chief Alyson Shontell recently sat down with President Donald Trump for a wide-ranging conversation covering everything from tariffs to AI data centers to the war in Iran. The president also outlined the broader, top-down dealmaking mentality he’s bringing to the American economy.
Over the past two years, on multiple occasions, the Trump administration has taken an equity stake in an American corporation rather than offering a bailout, tax subsidy, or grant. The administration is now acquiring stakes in private-sector companies deemed critical to national security.
“The bear case: Truly free markets—a foundation of democracy—require the government not to meddle in corporate governance. Government equity stakes could make it highly tempting for a future administration to cross that line. (What’s more, most venture investments flop.)”
“[Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan] came in to see me,” Trump told Shontell. “I liked him, I thought he was good.”
Shontell points out that Trump also had leverage: substantial federal grants for chipmaking that had been earmarked, but not yet delivered, to Intel. The chipmaker’s stock has taken off since.
