Leaders | The fight over America’s economy

Tech is coming to Washington. Prepare for a clash of cultures

Out of Trumpian chaos and contradiction, something good might just emerge

A silhouette of Donald Trump surrounded by a montage of his appointees fighting
image: Klawe Rzeczy/Getty Images/Alamy/

Already things have turned nasty. Donald Trump has not even got to the White House, and his raucous court of advisers have rounded on each other. In recent days Elon Musk and other tech tycoons have traded insults with the MAGA crowd over highly skilled migration. What seems like a petty spat over visas is in fact a sign of a much deeper rift. For the first time, tech is coming to Washington—and its worldview is strikingly at odds with the maga movement. The ways in which these tensions are resolved, and who gains the upper hand, will profoundly affect America’s economy and its financial markets over the next four years.

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This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “The fight over America’s economy”

From the January 4th 2025 edition

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