In 1952, President Harry Truman signed Executive Order 10340, seizing America's steel mills to prevent a nationwide strike during the Korean War. Within hours, federal officials marched into steel plants across the nation, posted government notices on factory gates, and informed startled executives they now worked for Washington.
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Two months later, the Supreme Court struck down Truman's power grab in a blistering 6-3 decision, ruling that even wartime emergencies cannot justify blatant overreach into private enterprise without congressional authorization.
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But President Truman took this unprecedented step to defend national security interests during a time of war—when American soldiers needed steel for tanks and weapons to fight communism in Korea.
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Today, President Trump endangers national security in peacetime while pursuing policies no less egregious.
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Trump has engineered an unprecedented "pay-to-play" scheme that forces Nvidia and AMD to surrender 15% of their China revenues to the federal government in exchange for export licenses. This isn't governance—it's a protection racket with a presidential seal.
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From tariffs that punish consumers to export taxes that handicap producers, Trump has proven himself an enemy of free enterprise and a barrier to economic growth—as his contempt for constitutional limits continues unabated. Article I, Section 9, Clause 5 of the Constitution states it clearly:
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​"No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State."
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​Trump claims this extortion serves national interests, arguing that older chip models pose minimal security risks while generating federal revenue.
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But Trump's own words reveal the transactional nature of his presidency: "I said if I'm going to do that I want you to pay us as a country something, because I'm giving you a release." This is how a mob boss talks, not the leader of the free world. The president has transformed the federal government into a competing business entity, treating private companies as rivals to be squeezed rather than engines of American prosperity to be unleashed.

The National Security Threat

The national security implications are catastrophic. These chips—while older models—will still power artificial intelligence systems that directly support the People's Liberation Army. Nvidia’s H20 chip capabilities will enhance China's military AI programs, helping them build smarter weapons and surveillance systems that oppress Chinese citizens and threaten our Southeast Asian allies.
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Now Trump even hints at allowing sales of next-generation Nvidia Blackwell chips to China, funding our own strategic competitors while handing them a victory in the critical race for AI supremacy.
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Liza Tobin, who served on the National Security Council during Trump's first administration, captured the absurdity perfectly: "What's next—letting Lockheed Martin sell F-35s to China for a 15 per cent commission?"
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I support government intervention in private business when it threatens public harm or endangers national security. This situation clearly qualifies as the latter. But Trump's response represents the worst possible solution: creating financial incentives for Washington to overlook Chinese military applications while crippling American technological leadership.

The Abandonment of Conservative Principles

The administration claims this arrangement will generate $3 billion in revenue. But does anyone really believe federal bureaucrats will invest these dollars more productively than Nvidia and AMD would? These companies would channel the money into research laboratories, engineering talent, and next-generation innovations that secure America's technological edge. Instead, Trump wants to feed the same Washington spending machine that conservatives have battled for decades.
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This represents the complete abandonment of conservative principles on multiple fronts. Free market economics? Destroyed by trade wars and crony capitalism. Constitutional governance? Trampled by executive overreach. National security hawkishness? Compromised by profit motives. Small government? Replaced by a regulatory regime creating new forms of taxation.
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Trump's business background, once seen as an asset, has become a liability as he approaches the presidency like a corporate takeover artist. He views other successful businesses not as allies in American prosperity, but as competitors who must pay tribute. He applies leverage the same way he would pressure a business adversary.
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The president even boasted about negotiating the 15% rate down from his initial 20, as if shaking down American companies deserves applause.
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A few otherwise deferential Republicans are pushing back. Rep. John Moolenaar of Michigan, Chair of the House Select Committee on China, spoke bluntly: “Export controls are a frontline defense in protecting our national security, and we should not set a precedent that incentivizes the Government to grant licenses to sell China technology that will enhance its AI capabilities.”

American Prosperity: No Friends Left in DC

Harry Truman seized steel mills only when national security demanded it. The Supreme Court rejected his power grab, understanding that even legitimate emergencies cannot justify trampling constitutional limits on government power.
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Trump has become what the founders feared most: a leader who uses government power not to protect the nation's interests, but to extract tribute from those who create its wealth.
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And in abandoning the very conservative principles he claims to champion, Trump has left America without a major party that truly supports the private enterprises that have empowered our prosperity for 250 years.

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