A political coalition fuses hardcore populist priorities with pro-business concessions, creating potential internal conflicts. Populist measures include tariffs to remake global trade, pressure on the Federal Reserve, tax breaks targeted to workers, and mass deportation aimed at protecting wages and public resources. Pro-business moves include extending the 2017 tax cuts, aggressive regulatory rollbacks, approval of major mergers, selective tech export allowances to China, and consideration of protections for undocumented farmworkers. The combination yields both gains for corporate America and persistent populist policy commitments, producing tensions that could cause revolt or resistance depending on future policy shifts.
True MAGA adherents may revolt if Trump's successor strays from hardcore populism. Business leaders could balk if they lean too far the other way. On the populist side: Trump has used tariffs to fundamentally remake the global trading order, with the goal of both punishing countries who "cheat" the U.S. and boosting domestic manufacturing. He's waged a public war on the Federal Reserve - railing against high interest rates as punishing ordinary Americans, and threatening the independence of the central bank.
On the pro-business side: Trump has delivered major wins for corporate America, including by extending the 2017 tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the wealthiest Americans. His administration has aggressively slashed regulations and signed off on high-profile mergers, reviving the pre-Trump GOP instinct to unshackle big business. Trump also allowed Nvidia to continue exporting certain AI chips to China - a concession to tech and Wall Street that undercut his broader "tough on China" stance.
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