The Problem With Trump’s Intel Deal

The U.S. government recently acquired a 10 percent stake in Intel. While President Donald Trump touted the move on social media as a “great Deal for America,” Daniel Di Martino argues that it signals a troubling turn away from free-market capitalism.

State involvement in private industry, he argues, dilutes firms’ profit motive and undermines the principles of free enterprise. He notes that companies with at least a 10 percent government stake are less productive and less profitable.

“America is still a long way from being a socialist nation,” Di Martino writes, “but with the Intel deal, we have muddied the waters a little more.”

With Donald Trump in the White House, ESG is in retreat. Only four of the politically radical proposals on big companies’ proxy ballots received a majority of shareholders’ support this voting season, compared with 82 between 2020 and 2022.

But as Jim Copland warns, shareholder activism could return if a Democrat wins the presidency. He argues that policymakers should take action to prevent asset managers—particularly Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street—from using their leverage to advance left-wing priorities.

Successful literary biographers possess a rare collection of skills. They must be excellent prose stylists, socially adept, and simultaneously ambitious and humble in chronicling another man’s life. Richard Ellmann, who wrote the legendary biography of the Irish novelist James Joyce, had those qualities in spades.

Jonathan Clarke reviews Ellmann’s Joyce: The Biography of a Masterpiece and Its Maker, Zachary Leader’s new life of Ellman. Leader’s book, Clarke writes, offers a portrait of Ellman that is “judicious, sophisticated, and never less than clear.” Read the rest of his review here.

Rafael Mangual, John Ketcham, Isabella Redjai, and Kerry Soropoulos look at the high-stakes dynamics of the New York City mayoral race. From candidate strategies and the influence of social media to the surprising role of game theory in political decision-making, they break down how modern campaigns are evolving. They also explore how crime policy is shaping electoral outcomes and how Democrats are responding to public safety concerns. Plus, a timely discussion of how AI is disrupting fashion marketing and what it means for traditional advertising.

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