The Dictatorship

Trump is using the Iran war to take more control over business

Published

3 months ago

April 25, 2026

Apr. 25, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT

ByJoseph Zeballos-Roig

President Donald Trump considers China the country’s biggest rival. But he also seems to view it as a model where the state calls the shots on who gets ahead in business.

Since returning to office, Trump has taken a more direct stake in American businesses than his predecessors — especially the Republican ones — turning the federal goverrnment into a major shareholder. While it’s still nowhere near China’s state-directed market economyit’s still closer to it than the U.S. has typically been.

America’s investment portfolio currently spans 16 companies with $21 billion invested so far, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. The roster includes smaller stakes in Intel Corp. — the single-largest federal commitment— and rare-earth mineral companies such as MP Materials among others.

Now he’s poised to use the Iran war to exert more power in the economy.

The Trump administration is galloping ahead with a pair of bailouts for Spirit Airlines and the United Arab Emirates, a Persian Gulf nation and a close U.S. ally. Both are grappling with the fallout of the war, which has rippled through the global economy and spiked fuel prices.

Spirit was already in bad shape before war broke out in the Middle East. The budget carrier cycled through two bankruptcies in two years and has long had a dismal reputation among travelers. A University of Chicago professor once infamously comparedtraveling on the airline to a case of chickenpox since “everyone has endured Spirit once.”

Nevertheless, it is in line to receive a $500 million loanfrom the U.S. government to avoid liquidation or even an outright sale — turning Spirit into America’s first state-owned airline.

“We’re thinking about helping them out, meaning bailing them out, or buying it,” Trump told reporters Thursday evening. “I think we just buy it.”

Next up is the UAE. Iranian missiles bombarded the oil-rich nation, crippling its ability to sell and export oil through the critical Strait of Hormuz. Though the UAE has ample financial reserves, it is still bleeding dollars. Now the administration is engineering a currency swap linethat functions similarly to credit. It is the exact same lifeline that was extended to Argentinalate last year, and may wellbe granted to Asian nations in the future.

In both cases, Trump is using reprecussions from the war to justify more government involvement in the economy.

There is precedent for this. During World War I, the federal government took control of the nation’s railroadsthough they were returned to private ownership after the war’s end. In World War II, the feds ordered auto companies to stop building private cars and focus on planes and tanks, strictly rationingthe remaining civilian automobiles. And during the Korean War, President Harry Truman attempted to seize control of U.S. steel mills, only to be blockedby the Supreme Court.

Republicans have long argued that this kind of state meddling — which former House Speaker Paul Ryan referred to as “picking winners and losers” — risks being corrupted by personal influence. They had a field day when the solar power company Solyndra went bankrupt after receiving a federal loan guarantee from the Obama administration, calling it “crony capitalism” because some people invovled with the company had been campaign contributors.

Crony capitalism is typically definedas a system in which private firms leverage influence in government to secure privileged favors and gain advantage, instead of competing in open markets for success. The term was first usedin the 1980s to illustrate the two-decade dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos over the Philippines. Marcos minted oligarchs who dominated the Philippine economy with insider deals and relied on him to preserve their splendor. His rule ended with the economy in free fall.

Closer to home, the U.S. sugar industry has long been held upas a blatant exampleof crony capitalism. Domestic sugarmakers have been federally backed through a blend of import tariffs, purchasing quotas and price guarantees for more than four decades. The Trump administration has only reinforced the status quo: It tossed them three lifelines over the past year by restrictingsugar imports, boosting price guarantees and issuing temporary one-time payments for sugar producers.

Big Sugar is the dominant political donor among crop producers and an influential constituency. Republicans in particular learned never to cross them. “Don’t f— with sugar,” former Republican House Speaker John Boehner wrote in his 2021 memoir.

With Trump knocking down wall after wall separating business and government, that critique appears prescient.

Now with Trump knocking down wall after wall separating business and government, that critique appears prescient.

Take the UAE, first among equals in the Persian Gulf. Early last year, Dubai pledged $1.4 trillionin direct U.S. investments over 10 years. The UAE is heavily intertwined with the Trump family, who cultivated extensive business tiesin the country. An Emirati-backed investment firm also has a sizable stakein World Liberty Financial, the crypto venture directed by Trump’s sons. Now the war’s fallout has stirred fearsin the Trump administration that the UAE’s enormous investment pledges are in jeopardy.

Over the past 15 months, Trump has laid the groundwork for a command economy, giving him plenty of opportunities to direct government money to friends and family if he chooses. Now, a war of choice against Iran sets the stage for him to take it even farther.

Joseph Zeballos-Roig

Joseph Zeballos-Roig is a reporter who has covered economic policy and politics for Semafor, Business Insider and Quartz, among other publications.

The Dictatorship

Friday’s Campaign Round-Up, 7.10.26: Democrats pour into Maine race to replace Platner

Published

47 minutes ago

July 10, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Friday’s Campaign Round-Up, 7.10.26: Democrats pour into Maine race to replace Platner

Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.

* In Maine’s closely watched Senate raceGraham Platner has until Monday to officially withdraw his Democratic candidacy. And according to multiple reportshe intends to wait until Monday to file the paperwork. It’s not at all clear why he’s dragging out the process.

In the meantime, the field of contenders hoping to replace him on the general election ballot is growing quickly. Former state Senate President Troy Jackson, for example, announced his candidacy less than an hour after Platner left the race. Dan Kleban, co-founder of Maine Beer Company, is also in, along with former gubernatorial hopeful Nirav Shah, who led the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention during the pandemic.

As Thursday progressed, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows joined the party’s field, as did Jordan Wood, who recently lost a competitive House primary race in the northern part of Maine.

Over the past 30 years, there have been only nine instances in which a major party replaced its Senate nominee. Two of those nine won.

* Despite credible concerns about Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s eligibility to run for governor in Alabama, a state judge this week dismissed a lawsuit that argued he does not meet the residency requirement to run.

* In Texas’ closely watched Senate raceRepublican Attorney General Ken Paxton raised over $9 million in the second quarter (spanning April through June), while Democratic state Rep. James Talarico raised a staggering $30 million over the same three months. According to The Texas TribuneTalarico’s haul “is a record total for a U.S. Senate candidate in the second quarter of an election year.”

* As Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s Republican gubernatorial campaign prepares for an Aug. 6 primary, the senator launched a new television ad this week that has been widely panned as racist.

* Rep. Mike Collins’ Republican Senate campaign in Georgia was already facing long oddsand it probably won’t help that the far-right congressman is now struggling with staffing issuesincluding the departure of two chiefs of staff.

* And while it’s undeniable that Republicans enjoy a financial advantage headed into the midterm electionsSenate Majority PAC, a super PAC aligned with the Senate Democratic leadership, and its affiliated nonprofit raised $147 million in the second quarter. That’s the best quarter it’s ever had.

Steve Benen is a producer for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He’s also the bestselling author of “Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past.”

The Dictatorship

Mexican immigrant killed by ICE was not target, Democratic lawmaker says

Published

48 minutes ago

July 10, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Mexican immigrant killed by ICE was not target, Democratic lawmaker says

Christmas. 10, 2026, 11:47 AM EDT

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was not the target of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation that resulted in his fatal shooting, Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, told MS NOW.

Salgado, a Mexican immigrant who moved to the United States 35 years ago, was shot and killed during a traffic stop in Houston on Tuesday. According to Garcia, acting ICE Director David Venturella told her that neither Salgado nor his brother, who was in the vehicle with him, were the individuals that ICE officers were looking for. But Venturella “refused” to provide further information, Garcia said.

In a statement to MS NOW, a DHS spokesperson said that “officers conducted surveillance on a target’s address” where “they noted two white vans at the property. On July 7, officers were almost at the target’s address when they observed a white van with an individual who resembled the target. Officers then initiated the vehicle stop.”

The New York Timesciting a DHS spokeswoman, also reported on Thursday that ICE officers had been looking for a different person.

The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences has ruled Salgado’s death a homicide.

How the incident escalated to result in Salgado’s killing is unclear. Three other men arrested in the operation have disputed in handwritten statements to The Washington Post the claim by DHS that Salgado “weaponized his vehicle” against an officer.

“That is a lie,” Jose Trinidad Rojas said. “It is impossible for them to say that they were going to get run over … there were no officers in front of or behind the vehicle. They were on the sides.”

The officers engaging in the operation were also not wearing body cameras, nor were there cameras on the car dashboard. A DHS spokesperson told MS NOW in a statement that officers had not been issued body cameras because of the government shutdowns over funding for the department, saying the process of acquiring the equipment for ICE field offices “was interrupted by the Democrats multiple government shutdowns.”

Salgado’s death has sparked a firestorm across the country. His family said he was in the process of obtaining his work permit and was en route to a construction site when he was killed.

They have also called for an independent investigation into his killing, pointing to the similarities in DHS’ claim about the circumstances of Salgado’s death to that of Renee Good’s in Minneapolis.

DHS has said its Office of Inspector General is probing the incident. A spokesperson for the FBI in Houston previously told MS NOW that it is “leading an investigation into the potential assault on a federal law enforcement officer.”

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Laura Barrón-López covers the White House for MS NOW.

Rosa Flores is a national correspondent for MS NOW.

Sara Weisfeldt is a field producer for MS NOW.

Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.

The Dictatorship

Victor Marx’s GOP primary win in Colorado creates a new challenge for his party

Published

48 minutes ago

July 10, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Victor Marx’s GOP primary win in Colorado creates a new challenge for his party

Voters in Colorado haven’t elected a Republican governor in more than two decades, and now that this year’s GOP gubernatorial primary has been called, it seems the streak will continue for four more years. The Associated Press reported:

Marine Corps veteran Victor Marx won the Republican primary for Colorado governor on Thursday, inching past a state senator who had the establishment’s backing.

Marx, described as a “high risk humanitarian” and the fastest gun disarmer in the world, defeated Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, his stiffest competition, in the June 30 election.

The results were incredibly close, and as of the latest tallies, Marx’s lead over Kirkmeyer was only about half a percentage point. That said, the advantage was good enough for news organizations to call the contest.

For her party, Kirkmeyer thanked her supporters and volunteers in a statement Thursday evening, signing off by saying, “I’m still proud of the campaign we ran … and, for the record, I still haven’t killed anyone.”

That might sound like a strange thing to say, but in this case, it was highly relevant: According to Marx, who founded a group called All Things Possible Ministries, he had an abusive stepfather who effectively forced him, at just 7 years old, to kill a man.

Asked in May how many people he has killed since then, the GOP candidate paused before telling Kyle Clark, an anchor at the NBC affiliate in Denver, “Does it matter?” He went on to call it an “odd question.”

(For the record, there are lingering questions about whether Marx actually killed a man as a child, and according to local law enforcementthere are unsolved murders from that time period.)

In case that weren’t quite enough, in the same interview, Marx explained that he also performs exorcisms, which he added can be completed over the phone.

He did not appear to be kidding.

A recent Slate report noted that party insiders not only expect him to lose badly, they’re also concerned that having Marx at the top of the GOP ballot “could imperil other Republican seats in the statehouse and Congress, plunging the fractured, marginalized party into chaos.”

Marx will face Phil Weiser, the Democratic state attorney general, in November. Watch this space.