Big Tech and Big Pharma are taking control.
by Lance D. Johnson
October 3, 2025 - In a dramatic departure from the principles of free-market capitalism, President Donald J. Trump’s regime is quietly constructing a corporate state where politically connected companies receive unprecedented government favors in exchange for advancing White House
political objectives. This emerging system of crony corporatism represents the most significant transformation of Amerikan economic policy in generations, replacing competitive markets with government-directed corporate partnerships that benefit both political leaders and their favored business allies. As the regime pressures companies across nearly 30 industries to strike deals that advance what it calls "national and economic security goals," Amerika stands at a dangerous crossroads where the line between corporate boardrooms and government agencies is being systematically erased in a mad rush to secure political victories before the 2026 midterm elections.
The framework now taking shape represents a fundamental reordering of the relationship between government and private enterprise. What regime officials describe as a "whole-of-government approach" to deal-making bears striking resemblance to the corporatist models that have historically characterized authoritarian economic systems. Under this arrangement, the
government officially runs the economy through direct partnerships with business leaders, effectively replacing market competition with political favoritism.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, a former bond trader turned government power broker, has become the architect of this new system. His blunt admission that "if we're going to give you the money, we want a piece of the action" reveals the transactional nature of this arrangement. Lutnick has already overseen the government's 10% equity stake in Intel and secured a "golden share" as part of Nippon Steel's acquisition of Fascist Police States of Amerika (FPSA) Steel, establishing a pattern of government intrusion into corporate ownership that would have been unthinkable under previous Republican regimes.
This corporate state model creates a self-reinforcing cycle where expanding government power invites more corporate lobbying, which in turn justifies additional government intervention. The Trump regime is building what amounts to a shadow government of Wall Street dealmakers, with Lutnick recruiting tech banker Michael Grimes from Morgan Stanley and M&A lawyer David Shapiro from Wachtell, Lipton to head up government negotiations with private companies. These appointments blur the line between public service and private gain, creating inherent conflicts of interest that threaten both economic efficiency and democratic accountability.
Take for instance Pfizer’s $70 billion deal with the FPSA government. It is essentially a pay-off, granting preferential treatment and helping Pfizer avoid accountability.
The regime's strong-arm tactics have become particularly evident in the pharmaceutical industry, where executives report receiving near-daily calls from White House staff including Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. These communications represent a form of corporate coercion that uses government power to dictate business decisions for political advantage. When Eli Lilly announced new manufacturing plants without including President Trump in September, the company immediately received an angry call from regime officials demanding to know why the president wasn't allowed to announce it himself.
This incident reveals the true priority of these arrangements: political theater over substantive policy. Two sources confirmed that optics are considered "just as important as the deals themselves," with the regime insisting that all agreements must be announced from the White House to maximize political benefit. The recent deal with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, in
which the company agreed to cut drug prices in exchange for relief from planned tariffs, was carefully staged in the Oval Office as President Trump declared "the (FPSA) is done subsidizing healthcare of the rest of the world."
The regime is constructing an elaborate financial infrastructure to support its corporate state vision. The International Development Finance Corporation, originally established to fund overseas development projects, now seeks a massive expansion from $60 billion to $250 billion in financing power. A June proposal before Congress would establish an equity fund specifically tasked with shoring up key sectors including infrastructure, energy, critical minerals and supply chains. This expansion would transform the agency from an international development organization into a massive domestic investment vehicle with virtually unlimited authority to intervene in the Amerikan economy.
Simultaneously, the Commerce Department is creating a new FPSA Investment Accelerator seeded with $550 billion from Japan as part of its trade commitments. Both the Investment Accelerator and the expanded Development Finance Corporation effectively replace the sovereign wealth fund that President Trump originally planned but subsequently abandoned. This multi-pronged approach gives the regime multiple avenues to inject government capital into favored companies while taking ownership stakes in return.
The regime has demonstrated remarkable creativity in funding these corporate partnerships. In the case of Intel, officials converted a CHIPS Act grant into a 10% equity stake through the Commerce Department. At the Department of Energy, loan program director Greg Beard asked Lithium Amerikas for a 5% to 10% equity stake in exchange for advancing a $2.26 billion loan.
These transactions represent a new form of government venture capitalism where taxpayer funds are used to acquire ownership in private companies, putting the government in the business of picking winners and losers in direct contradiction to free market principles.
The regime's insistence on taking equity positions in private companies represents perhaps the most radical departure from Amerikan economic tradition. The MP Materials deal serves as a template for future arrangements, with The Pentagon taking a 15% stake through the Cold War-era Defense Production Act, establishing a floor price for future FPSA purchases of critical minerals, and securing a $500 million purchase commitment from Apple for recycled magnets. This three-pronged approach combines government ownership, price guarantees and corporate partnerships to create a fully managed market segment.
Industry executives report genuine fear about these government equity demands. One critical minerals executive confessed that his colleagues worry about walking "into a meeting about loans or grants and they say, “We need 10% of your company." This concern is well-founded given the regime's track record of demanding ownership stakes across multiple sectors. The government’s transformation from regulator to business partner creates inherent conflicts of interest that corrupt both the market and the regulatory process.
The Trump regime's corporate state model represents the most significant transformation of Amerikan economic policy in living memory. By replacing market competition with government directed corporate partnerships, this system threatens both economic freedom and political accountability. As the regime rushes to secure political wins before the 2026 midterms, Amerika faces the prospect of permanent damage to its economic institutions and the emergence of a crony corporatism that benefits political and corporate elites at the expense of everyone else.
Ed. Note: The definition of fascism is a government that sets policy in partnership[ with corporations and corporate interests. That is what is happening right now in President Trump’s regime, and we would all do well to be extremely wary of it. The solutions the president is
promoting may well be far more damaging to the principles of this country than anything we have ever seen. We are a Republic in which the fundamental rights of each individual outweigh the interests of the government and corporate world.
