The world is governed by the wealthiest. Whose interests will Donald Trump and his billionaire friends defend?
The new President of the United States, Donald Trump, whose inauguration takes place today, January 20, has previously made quite ambiguous statements regarding the economic policy of his administration. In particular, he promised significant changes for the world's largest economy. As reported by the BBC, on the agenda are the cessation of the destructive inflation crisis, tariffs (new duties), and substantial tax cuts. Thus, judging by Trump's words, he supposedly aims to ignite an economic boom and revive the waning faith in the American dream. "We are at the beginning of a great, beautiful golden age of business," the BBC quotes Trump’s speech. Additionally, even before the inauguration, Trump managed to launch a new cryptocurrency—meme coin $Trump. So what does the new American president plan to do? Is he really intent on starting a trade war with China, and why does he surround himself with so many billionaires?
Cryptocurrencies and Technology: How Trump’s Team Will Attempt to Change the World
A few days before the inauguration, the new head of the White House launched a new cryptocurrency—meme coin $Trump. According to CoinMarketCap.com, within a few hours of its launch, the market capitalization of $Trump reached nearly $5.5 billion. Interestingly, during his previous term, Donald Trump had a very different view of crypto assets. For example, as noted by the BBC, in 2021 he stated, "Bitcoin is just like a scam. I don’t like it because it’s another currency that competes with the dollar."
5 It seems that Trump has reconsidered his stance on cryptocurrencies and even declared that he will make the United States the "crypto capital of the planet." And he decided to start creating this crypto capital immediately. The initiative for the $Trump meme coin has been met with mixed reactions.
"This is literally profiting from the presidency—creating a financial instrument so that people can send money to the president's family due to his position," quotes The New York Times Ada Noti, executive director of the non-profit ethical group Campaign Legal Center. Eric Trump, who helps manage the business operations of the Trump Organization, stated that this proposal is part of a new and growing business sector that the Trump family has entered. Meanwhile, Nick Tomaino, a venture crypto investor and former head of Coinbase, believes that Trump "owns 80% of the shares and sets launch timelines just hours before the inauguration—this is robbery, and many will likely suffer from it."
6 So, it is quite interesting that Trump’s first steps even before his inauguration, before officially taking office as the President of the United States, were made towards promoting the crypto market. Experts say that Trump will try to further promote the topic of cryptocurrency. "He has stated and will likely attempt to implement the widespread use of cryptocurrencies, popularize the crypto market, and there is also a separate topic regarding the formation of U.S. reserves in crypto assets. I’m not sure about this matter, but since a loyal person is appointed to the Treasury, much will indeed be done for the development of the crypto market and cryptocurrencies," says Andrei Shevchishin.
Even before his inauguration, Trump launched the new meme coin $Trump into the crypto market, which is quickly gaining insane popularity.
Overall, the closeness of businessmen surrounding Trump, including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg, sends certain signals that the U.S. economy is moving forward and quite swiftly toward more active technological development. This is not just about AI development, although Trump has promised to revoke President Joe Biden's executive order on artificial intelligence, which aimed to protect people's rights and safety without stifling innovation. New discussions about a potential merger between Google and Facebook are on the agenda.
7 As writes AP News, most experts expect the Trump administration to ease antitrust measures and be more lenient towards the merger of these companies. "Google could benefit from Trump's return after he made comments during the campaign suggesting that breaking up the company does not align with the national interests of the U.S., after a judge declared its search engine an illegal monopoly," the article states. However, there is not enough information yet to predict whether Trump will completely abandon Biden's attempts to rein in the monopoly power of major U.S. tech companies.
Against China: What Might Be the Foreign Economic Policy of the Trump Administration
According to previously stated remarks by Trump, the focus is on curbing inflation, imposing tariffs on imported goods (60% on goods from China, 10-20% on goods from partner countries), and reducing several taxes—from eliminating social security taxes to lowering the corporate tax rate.
8 Andrei Shevchishin, a financial analyst and member of the Ukrainian Society of Financial Analysts, also indicates that Trump will pursue a tougher policy regarding imported goods. Moreover, in his view, he will try to involve EU countries in this confrontation with the PRC.
"I can’t imagine that Europe will be thrilled with this confrontation because Trump will attempt to involve Europe in this circle. And Europe is also a key consumer of Chinese goods. Of course, Trump will defend the American market. It’s hard to say what the tariffs will be and what the duties will look like. They will primarily affect microelectronics, chips, but he will also try to impose new duties and implement a tough policy regarding imports from China in other segments," noted Andrei Shevchishin.
New tariffs on Chinese goods could spark inflation in the U.S., while Trump promised voters to halt price increases.
According to Oleg Pendzin, Trump will not engage in open hostility in trade relations with the PRC. This means that his administration will not impose overly strict restrictions on all categories of Chinese goods. "If this is implemented, a massive array of Chinese goods will simply disappear from the American market, which would hit it very hard. We must understand the level of Chinese goods' presence in the American market. It is very high. Therefore, in my opinion, this situation is rather a proposal for negotiations. But it is unlikely to be realized," noted Oleg Pendzin.
9 Regarding Donald Trump’s statement about significant tax cuts in the U.S., experts doubt that tax policy will undergo serious changes during his term. "Regarding taxes, there is a big question about whether the previous tax cuts introduced by Trump in 2017 will remain valid, as this measure expires this year. Overall, expectations are that Trump will likely continue the action of those reduced taxes introduced back then. As for further and larger cuts—perhaps, but considering the level of national debt and its growth rate, as well as the budget deficit—this could be a problematic decision politically and in terms of the consequences of such a decision," noted Ivan Uglinitsa.
According to Andrei Shevchishin, to reduce taxes, there needs to be a way to cover the absence of revenue in the state treasury from those taxes. "And Trump doesn’t have that solution yet; at least we don’t know how the budget revenues will be made up if these taxes are reduced or eliminated altogether," says the analyst. He suggested that part of the revenue deficit in the case of tax cuts in the U.S. would be attempted to be compensated by reducing expenditures, primarily social ones.
"Dear friends": Why Trump Needs Billionaires in His Administration and What This Will Affect
The new president, Donald Trump, has assembled the wealthiest presidential administration in modern history—at least 13 billionaires are set to take government positions, writes abcNews. Specifically, even without Elon Musk, Trump’s cabinet is expected to be the richest in history. Overall, Trump’s cabinet will concentrate owners with at least $7 billion, according to the article. Meanwhile, Elon Musk (whose assets exceed $400 billion) becomes co-chair of the Department of Government Efficiency. In fact, although informally, billionaires Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, who recently donated $1 million each to Trump’s inauguration fund, are also part of Donald Trump’s team.
Trump's cabinet will be the richest in history: it will concentrate owners with at least $7 billion—without including Musk.
"It’s not surprising that Trump surrounds himself with people who come from the same world as him. The class of billionaire businessmen is who he is and who he wants to be seen as, and he wants to be seen with," quotes abcNews the words of Jordan Libowitz, Vice President for Communications at the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
0 Joe Biden, during his farewell address last week, also commented on the gathering of the wealthiest around Trump. Moreover, as foreign media noted, Biden was particularly concerned about the tandem of Trump and Musk. "Today in America, an oligarchy of extreme wealth, power, and influence is forming, which literally threatens our democracy, our fundamental rights and freedoms, and fair chances for everyone to get ahead,"