“Shoot now, pay later”: The MAGA economy extends from commerce into finance, 2023–2025

Ryan Calder, The Johns Hopkins University
Ian Kennedy, University of Illinois Chicago
Mahesh Somashekhar, University of Illinois at Chicago

What is the “MAGA economy,” and how is it evolving? We document a network of private companies, entrepreneurs, and investors in the United States known by supporters as the “freedom economy,” “patriotic economy,” or “parallel economy,” and argue that it has evolved through two phases. These phases reflect changes in the movement’s sectoral orientation—from commerce to finance—and in the fractions of Trumpist capital most active in the movement.

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 Presented in Session 213. American Politics in Transition: Economic Nationalism, Legal Battles, and Geopolitical Challenges