Noted short-seller Jim Chanos recently expressed his bewilderment over the shared viewpoint of President Donald Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a staunch critic of Trump and his policies.
Chanos took to X on Tuesday to pose the question, “What do you call it when both Donald Trump AND Bernie Sanders advocate government (“public”) ownership of corporate equity…?!”
Sanders, Trump Align On State Capitalism
Sanders, on Monday, proposed the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act. This legislation, if passed, would establish a federal fund filled with stock instead of cash. The stock would be procured through a one-time equity transfer of 50% from leading AI companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI to the government, while the remaining 50% would be held by the public.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has increasingly taken equity stakes in strategically important U.S. industries, including companies such as Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC), rare earth mining companies like MP Materials (NYSE:MP), positioning the government as a partial owner rather than just a customer. A recent report said the administration is in talks to support U.S. drone manufacturers through Pentagon-led financing involving debt and equity investments.
This move, endorsed by Sanders, marks a significant shift towards state intervention for Trump, a stance typically associated with the political left.
Chanos Slams Orbital Data Centers
Meanwhile, Chanos is known for his critical views on the tech industry. Much like Bernie Sanders’ push to restrict AI data center construction, the short-seller has previously referred to the push towards developing orbital data centers as “AI Snake Oil,” citing the high costs associated with such ventures
He also reacted to last month’s news that California startup Span has built compact, modular “XFRA” data center units that use spare local grid capacity identified by its smart panels, with Nvidia Corporation‘s (NASDAQ:NVDA) GPUs powering the systems, and PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) is currently testing the technology.
“Who needs data centers in space…?” questioned Chanos.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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