Trump is living inside a billionaire bubble in the White House
By: Charlie Herman (MS NOW)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Aug. 22, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT By Charlie Herman
Crypto keeper
With crypto executives standing behind him at the White House, Trump called on Congress to pass a major bill that would benefit the industry — as well as his own business. Some of those in attendance were even partners with his family’s crypto business. Increasingly, Americans don’t like what they’re seeing and believe the president is profiting from the office.
- 63% think it’s inappropriate that the president has profited from crypto. ( Reuters-Ipsos )
- 69% think his business interests influence decisions he makes, including nearly half of Republicans. ( Reuters-Ipsos )
- 65% disapprove of how Trump and his family are doing business with foreign countries while he is president. ( Economist-YouGov )
- 64% disapprove of Trump having a personal investment in the cryptocurrency industry while he’s president. ( Economist-YouGov )
The president once described crypto as a “very dangerous thing” and called Bitcoin a “ scam .” In his first year back in office, crypto earned his family’s businesses $1.4 billion dollars .
Now the Trump family business is looking to use crypto to become a bank. Late last Friday, it received preliminary approval from a banking regulator appointed by Trump for a national trust bank charter. The charter would not allow World Liberty Financial to make loans or accept federally insured deposits, but would allow it to handle crypto transactions more seamlessly. Sen. Elizabeth Warren called the decision “the most brazen act of self-dealing our financial system has ever seen.”
The ultra-wealthy administration
We talk a lot about the “K-shaped economy,” but how about the “K-shaped Trump administration”? Trump has appointed 57 people worth at least $100 million, eight of them billionaires. By comparison, the George W. Bush and Joe Biden administrations each had five officials worth more than $100 million; Barack Obama had three, according to Public Citizen . Trump told middle-class voters he would represent their interests and tackle high prices on Day 1. Instead, he has gilded the White House not just in gold but with the ultra-wealthy.
Second thoughts on AI
Despite pledges that AI would be an “equalizing force,” The Washington Post points to new research that AI used more in wealthier, urban areas . Nobel-winning economist Daron Acemoglu told the Post that AI could “create many more billionaires” while reducing many households’ real incomes. With that in mind:
- Companies once happily touted AI saving them money through layoffs. Now CEOs are getting more circumspect about linking AI to job cuts.
- Politicians once couldn’t wait to announce new data centers coming to their state or community, whether Republicans or Democrats. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro are now backing away as voters unite across party lines in opposition .
- Now a majority of Americans, and for the first time people under age 30, are increasingly concerned instead of excited about AI, according to a new poll from Pew . More people think AI will lead to fewer jobs: 71% of all adults report this concern, rising to 73% for those under 30.
Trump is shrugging it all off and focusing on lessening regulation for the industry, not increasing it. He has suggested that data centers don’t raise electricity prices and just need some better PR . Perhaps one other reason? Money. Ed Luce in the Financial Times sums it up: “President Donald Trump is uncharacteristically deaf to voter fears on this. Much of his hostility to AI regulation is about money. Musk spent hundreds of millions on Trump’s 2024 campaign and is promising another $100 million or so for Republicans in this year’s midterm elections. Most of the AI companies have contributed to various Trump boondoggles, including his White House ballroom and his Freedom 250 celebrations of America’s anniversary.”
The ‘doom loop’
Investors’ fears about inflation, the federal debt now totaling more than $40 trillion , and billions in corporate borrowing to finance AI are pushing yields (basically, long-term interest rates) on U.S. government bonds to new highs. Last week rates on 30-year Treasury bonds reached their highest level since 2007 .
- Why do I care? Higher long-term rates make mortgages, car loans and government borrowing more expensive. If they rise too far, they can also slow economic growth — bad news for an administration heading into the midterms.
This week, the administration attempted to stop the bond selloff , but after some initial success , the market resumed selling. One analyst told the Financial Times that Bessent’s move was a “band-aid on a bullet hole.” Bessent said the administration would unveil another effort to lower borrowing costs next week.
“The federal budget is the enemy within,” wrote former Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin, who’s now president of the American Action Forum. “It is the greatest threat to the foundations of economic progress, U.S. international economic standing, and national security.”
That creates a risk of a “ doom loop .” Higher rates increase the government’s interest costs, requiring still more borrowing that can push rates higher again. Already, the U.S. is spending 15% more on interest payments than it did a year ago.
Want to understand what this is all about and why it matters to you? Check out Stephanie Ruhle’s conversation on this issue.
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Scott Bessent has been rolling more of the national debt into short term T-bills and T-notes. While the amounts have been modest, so far, the move still cramps emergency measures available when the debt limit is reached. As the cost to service the debt increases, the limit on issuing new debt approaches more rapidly. As it stands now the debt limit may need to be addressed by the end of this year instead of the planned middle of next year.
The two dead months between the election and seating the next Congress may prove to be interesting. That's a window of opportunity for the war with Iran. But the debt limit may spoil the party. Plus this midterm election may drag on with challenges that may interfere with the new Congress opening session next January.
Disaster may be running on autopilot now.