From MAGA to Marxism: Trump’s Nationalization of US Steel

Donald Trump loves to talk tough about socialism, but his latest move with U.S. Steel is straight out of the Central Planning Playbook. Trump has done what Bernie Sanders only dreams of: nationalizing a private company with the stroke of a pen. Cato Institute’s Scott Lincicome, writing in The Dispatch this month rightly characterizes the situation as the Trump’s Administration securing a “golden share” as part of the U.S. Steel–Nippon Steel deal. This special arrangement gives the president, and every president after him, sweeping veto power over critical decisions—including where U.S. Steel is headquartered, whether plants can close, and if jobs or investments can be shifted overseas This isn’t protecting American business—it’s turning the White House into a corporate boardroom, and it’s a slap in the face to anyone who believes in free enterprise.

The numbers don’t lie: research from the Mercatus Center shows that when government gets this involved in industry, productivity drops and costs soar—just look at the U.K., where nationalized industries in the 1970s ran up losses of over $3 billion a year (in today’s dollars). The U.S. government’s “golden share” isn’t just a symbolic gesture; it’s a permanent veto over every major business decision, and history shows this kind of meddling is a recipe for stagnation and waste.

I have to wonder why Nippon Steel would agree to this. It is certainly not in their best interests. No one knows the future, but why would a major global company want to surrender its independence only to be subject to the whims of a foreign government??

I also have to wonder why Trump insisted on these changes. It is probably some combination of his embarrassment of needing an excuse as to why he rejected the merger in the first place, along with his need for power that often undermines the best of his intentions.

Trump’s power grab should strike fear in the hearts of taxpayers and business owners alike. If the president can seize control of a steel giant today, what’s stopping him from coming for your business tomorrow? As someone who’s spent decades fighting government overreach, I see this for what it is: a massive leap toward economic socialism, wrapped in a flag and sold as “America First.” Don’t be fooled—real freedom means getting politicians out of the boardroom, not giving them the keys to the company.