27 February, 2026

Donald Trump’s second-term economic playbook is anything but business as usual. The traditional Republican commitment to free markets, light regulation and a government that stays out of corporate decisions is rapidly fading. Today’s Republican Party is almost unrecognisable compared with the era of free market orthodoxy that defined the Reagan through Bush years. 

Last week, as part of a thought piece on collective action, we argued that business can no longer pretend politics is something that happens somewhere else. The blurring of lines between commercial, cultural and geopolitical forces is forcing companies to engage, whether they want to or not. And if the mood music is shifting towards a more vocal private sector, then a look at Trump’s recent actions offers the perfect case study in why. 

From demanding the resignation of Intel’s CEO, to reversing course after an Oval Office visit and then announcing a federal stake in the company worth nearly nine billion dollars, Trump has repeatedly inserted the presidency into corporate decision making. He rolled back export controls on semiconductor sales to China only after extracting a revenue share from Nvidia. He repeatedly waived TikTok’s divestment deadlines before brokering a deal linked to investors with personal ties. Taken together, these moves show an economic approach that is not just a break with tradition, it is a new departure altogether. Each episode signals the same thing: a government increasingly comfortable picking winners, steering markets and rewriting the rules on the fly. 

Economists from across the spectrum warn that this isn’t just ideological drift. It creates an economy that is less productive, less predictable, and less resilient. When a business depends on political favour, it becomes less interested in long term growth and more focused on currying short-term advantage.  

For those of us working in and around sustainability, this shift matters enormously. Businesses thrive on clarity, long termism and rules that hold. A world where governments intervene unpredictably is one where sustainability ambitions are harder to plan, finance, and deliver. And if the new normal is a state that picks sides, business leaders will need to decide how to protect their capacity to drive long term economic and social value. 

By Meg Seckel