by Leo Hohmann, Leo’s Newsletter:
Yet another Trump program thrusting the federal government into private industry. The ‘Freedom Fuel Network’ undercuts gas stations offering the market rate by 32 cents per gallon in two states.
Rather than chime in with the I told you so article that I thought about writing with regard to the resumption of full-fledged war between the U.S. and Iran, I decided to go down a different rabbit hole today.
TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/
Donald Trump has driven up the price of gasoline along with other food and energy-related costs by launching an unprovoked war on Iran, causing economic pain for millions of Americans. Enter “Freedom Fuel,” a mysterious entity that attempts to offer some relief at the pump, but who is paying for the subsidies?
Under Trump, we see a strange mixing of government with private business, and we should expect that trend to continue as long as he’s in office. The federal government has taken a direct equity stake in at least 17 companies during Trump’s second term, with investments totaling more than $20 billion, targeting technology, mining, defense-oriented businesses and manufacturing.
You can read more about Trump’s vision to make the U.S. government the biggest player in taking ownership stakes in key private corporations in this article from CFR.org.
The CFR reports:
Since January 2025, the U.S. government has announced investments worth $26.7 billion across thirty deals involving direct ownership, broadening a toolkit that has traditionally focused on grants, loans, and tax incentives. The Department of Commerce leads the way with seventeen announced deals, including taking a 10 percent stake in Intel. The Development Finance Corporation, the United States’ development bank, has pledged six equity transactions in critical minerals, energy, and infrastructure. The Department of Defense has disclosed seven deals, and the Department of Energy has participated in two.
And, if you pay attention, you’ll notice that Trump’s marketing/branding of these moves is always cloaked in patriotic language.
This jibes with another article I am working on but haven’t been able to finish yet on how Trump’s brand of capitalism is different than anything we’ve seen from previous American presidents. It’s closer to what was on display in the 1930s from another charismatic leader who rose to power as a “man of the people,” only to later crash his country into the ground in a way that it has never fully recovered — psychologically, culturally, spiritually or politically.
