Americans wary of Trump’s government ownership of companies: CNBC poll

CNBC’s new All-America Economic Survey finds that nearly half of Americans believe it is inappropriate for the U.S. government to take ownership of U.S.-based companies.

The finding emerged as the Trump administration was deliberating 30 deals worth approximately $27 billion Overall, it is a non-partisan think tank, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. More may come. Management has held talks with influential artificial intelligence start-up OpenAI about a potential government stake when it goes public, CNBC reported.

All-American poll results Only 19% of voters say it is OK for the federal government to own some U.S.-based companies, while 49% say it is not appropriate. But almost a third of voters, or 32%, were undecided; This indicates that there is room for persuasion when pursuing management plans.

CNBC’s All-America poll was conducted July 8-12 with a sample of 1,000 registered voters nationwide. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent. The survey was conducted in collaboration with Hart Research Associates and Public Opinion Strategies. The results were announced on Friday.

Some of the US ownership stakes were opportunistic, while others were part of a broader economic strategy. The largest occurred in August, when the US government bought a 10% stake in chipmaker Intel. The US government had agreed to provide a grant of $8.9 billion to Intel within the scope of the law passed under the Biden administration. The Trump administration has decided it wants equity in return, saying it would allow taxpayers to share in any potential upside.

$8.9 billion US stock initially Intel it has grown 372% since then and was worth $42 billion as of Thursday’s close.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick discussed Intel stock with Senate Republicans at a policy luncheon last week.

“We have to be careful about this,” Sen. John Hoeven, R-D., said after the meeting. “I understand that you see value for taxpayers here. I would want to be cautious in that area.”

Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, also said he was concerned about the U.S. government’s penchant for buying stocks. “I understand that sometimes it makes sense from a national security standpoint and from a taxpayer standpoint,” Husted said. But he added that this “shouldn’t be permanent.”

Husted supports legislation that would allow the U.S. government to invest in companies for national security reasons, but that law is only valid for up to eight years.

Other government allotments were obtained through coordinated efforts by the federal government to ensure that the United States has secure access to the resources and technologies it needs for national defense. He supported a company called Pentagon Multi-Purpose Materials It mines rare earths in the U.S. China has consolidated its control over rare earth mining in recent years, giving it control over critical components needed to produce advanced fighter jets, unmanned aerial vehicles and other technologies.

Critics of U.S. involvement in private companies argue that government support may temporarily make companies more attractive to shareholders, but in the long run, predominantly government-run companies are less competitive. The US steel industry is often cited as a critical example. It has been heavily protected through tariffs and other government measures over the years. In 2025, US Steel was privatized by a Japanese company. The U.S. government was granted a so-called golden share, which allowed it to veto certain business decisions.

The campaign to use the United States’ financial power to support companies concerned with national security has attracted the attention of private investors, some with ties to the president. ProPublica In May, the Pentagon of the White House was opened by Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son. He reportedly called for support for defense startup Vulcan Elements, a company that received investment from a firm linked to . Pentagon has a privately held Vulcan $620 million loan.

A White House official told ProPublica He called the report on the White House’s involvement in Vulcan “fake news on steroids.” A spokesman for Donald Trump Jr. said he was not personally involved in the deal and had not discussed his investments with federal government officials.

Democrats are more likely to be concerned about the interests of the U.S. government than Republicans. According to the CNBC survey, 66 percent of Democrats do not find it appropriate for the United States to buy shares in American companies, while only 34 percent of Republicans agree with this view.

The poll found doubts are high even among President Donald Trump’s most ardent supporters. Those who identify as MAGA Republicans are evenly split between 31 percent who say this type of ownership is appropriate and 31 percent who say it is not. 38 percent stated that they had no opinion on this issue.

The new poll results show a change from the October 2025 All-American Economic Survey, in which 56% of voters said it was inappropriate for the U.S. government to own part of a private company. At the time, 13% of voters said such ownership was appropriate, while 31% said they had no opinion.

—Emily Wilkins contributed to this report.