Let's Make a Deal, Trump Edition
Trump's theory of the economy is that the American left foolishly turned its back on domestic energy production.
“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” ― Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
Let's just call the last 10 days an example of Lenin-weeks. With the inauguration of President Donald Trump on January 20, The pace of change in America, and the pace of confusion about what it all means, has accelerated greatly.
Those of us in or closely following the infrastructure industries – broadband infrastructure, energy infrastructure, data center infrastructure – are all struggling to keep up. We are among the most affected by this pace of change.
As he promised, President Trump launched the business of his administration shortly after his swearing in at noon and a parade within the Capital One Arena. He then signed more than 100 executive orders. Sticklers might note that he actually signed 26 executive orders on "day one," but among the first of those was an executive order repealing 78 Biden Administration orders. As of Monday, Jan. 29, he had signed 37 orders.
As with his campaign, Trump's first orders have focused on energy and immigration, plus the Department of Government Efficiency, a concept that emerged after the election via tech titan Elon Musk and biotech entrepreneur and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who has since left the effort.
Everything that's not Biden
The short summary of what Trump has done in these first 10 days: Everything that's not Joe Biden.
Former President Biden had a theory about the economy, workers' rights, advanced infrastructure and investment in America. Biden's idea was to combine infrastructure investments (including broadband), promotion of advanced or clean energy, and subsidies for domestic chip-manufacturing. His ideas were cautious towards Big Tech, and he also restricted China's ability to obtain and run the most advanced semiconductors.
Trump has an alternative theory about the economy. It's most starkly different when it comes to energy: Domestic oil and coal are the untapped resource against which the American left had foolishly turned its back. Untapping the spigot to "drill, baby, drill" is the first step, Trump says, to allowing the recrudescence of American innovation.
The second step is about making a deal. For about 12 hours shortly before the inauguration, TikTok went dark because of law passed by the American Congress, signed by President Biden, and unanimously sustained by the Supreme Court.
Associated Press
And yet one of Trump's "day one" executive orders was granting the Chinese-owned company a 75-day grace period before China must sell controlling interest in the world's fourth largest social media app. Trump's opening offer to China: Give America or Americans half of the company, and U.S. tariffs on China will be less than they otherwise would be.
What is safe in federal funding for infrastructure?
With regard to the dueling presidential world views that Biden and Trump held on infrastructure, there are some commonalities.
Right now, almost everyone in Washington is trying to figure out what falls in the Venn diagram between Trump's view of the world, and former President Biden's. The clean energy provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act of August 16, 2022? That's a hard no.
How about the CHIPS and Science Act of August 9, 2022? Apparently safe, concluded panelists at Broadband Breakfast Live event last Wednesday.
Broadband Breakfast
What about the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of November 2021, which included the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment grant program? This is the jump ball has been the subject of multiple back-and-forth rumors, clarifications, announcements and confirmations – all kicked off by the implications of Trump's energy-focused executive orders on January 20.
- From January 22:
Jake Neenan
- From Tuesday morning:
Jake Neenan
- From Tuesday afternoon:
Jake Neenan
Stay tuned for where this live ball comes to a rest.
'Big Tech' or 'Little Tech' – Does it even matter?
Here's another key difference, at least one that became sharper as the fall of 2024 wore on: Trump promises to be a lot more friendly to the concerns raised by Silicon Valley, and the technology industry writ large.
We'll talk about this in Broadband Breakfast Live Online on Wednesday:
Will Rinehart
The staring point for the discussion will be "The Little Tech Agenda," a blog post from July 5, 2024, penned by Silicon Valley veterans Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, which created an unexpected bridge between the tech hub's innovation culture and Trump's political resurgence.
What began as a modest proposal for startup-friendly regulations and cryptocurrency innovation has become a catalyst for a broader tech-political realignment, drawing prominent venture capitalists and tech leaders into Trump's orbit.
Will this alliance between Silicon Valley disruptors and Trump's "Make America Great Again" political movement survive the realities of governing? How will the "techno-optimist" vision outlined in the agenda translate into effective policy?
Drew Clark
See you at Broadband Breakfast Live Online at 12 Noon ET on Wednesday!
Drew Clark
Broadband Breakfast
drew@breakfast.media
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