What ‘America First Antitrust’ means for Big Tech

There’s one big exception to the Trump Administration’s pro-tech, anti-Biden policy agenda so far — its antitrust efforts. At least since tech CEOs all donated millions of dollars to the inauguration, and sat on the dais, President Trump has generally been happy to rub shoulders with Silicon Valley elites, and even more eager to scorch anything that his predecessor put into place. However, that doesn’t quite square with the Trump Administration’s persistence on Big Tech antitrust. Antitrust regulators have all been pursuing the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice’s (DOJ) suits against tech giants like Google and Amazon, some filed under former President Joe Biden, some during President Donald Trump’s first term. True, there’s some indication that Trump sees those suits as leverage in negotiations with tech CEOs. Yet, there’s also a seemingly genuine ideological drive behind this antitrust approach — a Make America Great Again anti-tech sentiment rooted in Trump’s populism and flag waving. It extends to Republicans in Congress, too, where a pending House Appropriations bill would give the DOJ’s antitrust division $310 million next year, $77 million more than what Trump asked for.