Neither Fish nor Fowl

Neither fish, flesh, nor good red herring. Private equity is certainly a major force in U.S. industry, and activist investors are increasingly using national‑security narratives. But the Cleary Gottlieb analysis shows that the Trump administration’s equity interventions are government-driven, not PE-driven. Competing with PE. Ruling-class tools have turned against their sponsors before.

The beneficiaries in these cases are indeed often the companies themselves, whose stock prices rise when the government takes a stake — not private equity firms. Trump (or more likely the Administration) is centralizing control by having the federal government take ownership stakes in strategically important firms. Justified under econ sec = nat'l sec but experts cite legal dubiety, risks corruption and conflicts of interest. Shareholders are suing arguing the Admin is illegally using laws meant for supply‑chain resilience to justify becoming a shareholder. This is the STATE acquiring equity. State corporatism. Spengler's Caesarism gone managerial (in the sense of James, not Andy, who is as innocent as Lancelot).

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