The Powers That Be: Daily The Wolf of Washington
Sep 4, 2025
Bill Cohan, an expert journalist at Puck and author known for his deep insights on Wall Street, joins to unravel Trump's controversial role in the private sector from the White House. They discuss how Trump picked corporate winners, often using taxpayer money for his deals, while his motivations remain unclear. The conversation dives into the potential fallout of mixing politics with business interests, critiques of corporate governance, and the economic implications of a former president's bond portfolio on market confidence.
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Presidential Overreach Into Private Markets
- Bill Cohan argues Trump is inserting government power into private deals and taking slices of corporate value.
- This behavior resembles nationalization tendencies and breaks long-standing norms of presidential restraint.
Deals Blurring Public And Private Lines
- Trump has negotiated revenue-sharing and equity arrangements with firms like NVIDIA and U.S. Steel.
- Those deals mix government authority with private profits in ways atypical for non-emergency presidencies.
Meddling As Retribution
- Cohan portrays many moves as political retribution aimed at blue states and perceived enemies.
- He warns there's effectively nothing stopping Trump from using federal levers to punish or reward private actors.
