Critics Donald Trump he is often criticized for mixing his financial interests as a businessman - with the function of the president SAD. His latest business now provides them with an additional argument, writes ARD author Angela Gepfert, reports Deutsche says.
Namely, on December 18, Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) announced a merger with the energy company TAE Technologies, worth more than six billion dollars.
The companies have ambitious plans: already next year they want to start the construction of "the world's first nuclear fusion power plant on an industrial scale". Devin Nunes, director of TMTG, a company in which Donald Trump has a 60 percent stake, expects this to lower the cost of electricity in the US and better cover the growing needs of electricity for artificial intelligence.
Short-term euphoria on the stock market
On that news, the shares of Trump's company TMTG jumped strongly - by 42 percent. According to Forbes, Donald Trump's net worth increased by more than 500 million dollars in one day, to 6,8 billion dollars. After the usual short-term euphoria, the stock markets reacted quickly by falling, and the price is expected to continue to fluctuate strongly, in both directions.
Trump founded TMTG in February 2021 after his Twitter account was shut down after his supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6 of that year. The company's key project so far has been the social network "Truth Social", which serves as President Trump's main online newsletter.
After his re-election as president, Trump - unlike many of his predecessors - did not transfer his assets to an independent fund, the so-called "Qualified Blind Trust", as required by the US Government Ethics Act of 1978. It is a fund in which the owner has no control, knowledge or influence over the management and selection of individual property items. He receives only quarterly reports on changes in value.
Trump's assets are managed by his son Donald Trump Jr. However, Donald Trump remains the sole grantor and the fund's beneficiary can still earn income from his companies.
TAE Technologies – innovative nuclear energy of the future
According to the Wall Street Journal, the TAE company, founded in 1998, is among the oldest and best-known private companies in the world specializing in nuclear fusion for the production of electricity. It is backed by Google and energy giant Chevron, and has so far raised more than $1,3 billion in private capital, including from Goldman Sachs.
Nuclear fusion is the technology of the future – and it is completely different from the one we have been using in nuclear power plants for decades.
In classic nuclear reactors, fission is carried out - the splitting of heavy atomic nuclei, most often uranium. That process creates huge amounts of long-lived radioactive waste, which is one of the main problems.
In contrast, nuclear fusion fuses light atomic nuclei, most commonly isotopes of hydrogen. This process releases even more energy, produces significantly less dangerous radioactive waste in a much shorter time, and is considered far safer.
However, fusion is not yet ready for commercial use. Solving enormous technical challenges takes decades. Currently, there are dozens of companies and research teams around the world trying to build a functional fusion reactor.
The world's largest and most important project in this area is ITER in France – a huge experimental reactor involving 33 countries, including the USA, China, Russia, Japan, India and EU countries.
What is Genesis Mission?
As head of state, Donald Trump strongly promotes artificial intelligence: winning the race with China for dominance in that area, declared one of the priorities.
In November, he launched the "Genesis Mission" initiative, whose goal is to use artificial intelligence to accelerate scientific research, but also to strengthen the energy supply - because artificial intelligence needs enormous energy - and US national security. The American government then announced on December 18 that it had secured the support of technology giants such as Microsoft, Google and Nvidia for this project.
Trump's political and moral vulnerability
The sharp line separating private business and public function looks different, according to the ARD author.
Is Trump, as his critics claim, abusing the presidency in an unprecedented way for personal enrichment? His latest nuclear energy business, the parallel launch of the "Genesis Mission" and the simultaneous abandonment of the "blind trust" in any case make him politically and morally vulnerable, writes ARD.
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