Is Trump an Economic Despot? (with Daron Acemoglu)

Stay Tuned with Preet

Vox Media Podcast Network

Society & Culture, Politics, Government, News

4.8 • 32.3K Ratings

🗓️ 4 September 2025

⏱️ 71 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What comes first, a prosperous economy or stable democratic institutions? Nobel Prize-winning economist and MIT professor Daron Acemoglu joins Preet to discuss the economic stakes of shifting institutional norms in the U.S. He weighs in on President Trump’s decision to fire key personnel at the Federal Reserve and Bureau of Labor Statistics, as well as the announcement that the government will take a roughly 10% equity stake in Intel. Then, Preet answers a question about the latest developments in the Kilmar Abrego Garcia deportation case and discusses Governor Gavin Newsom’s recent social media posts. In the bonus for Insiders, Acemoglu discusses what people often overlook when comparing the Industrial Revolution to the AI revolution. Join the CAFE Insider community to stay informed without hysteria, fear-mongering, or rage-baiting. Head to cafe.com/insider to sign up. Thank you for supporting our work. Show notes and a transcript of the episode are available on our website. You can now watch this episode! Head to CAFE’s Youtube channel and subscribe. Have a question for Preet? Ask @PreetBharara on BlueSky, or Twitter with the hashtag #AskPreet. Email us at [email protected], or call 833-997-7338 to leave a voicemail. Stay Tuned with Preet is brought to you by CAFE and the Vox Media Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	From Cafe and the Vox Media Podcast Network, welcome to stay tuned.
0:06.0	I'm Preet Bharara.
0:08.4	If it's done by a president who's been known to use coercion in a coercive manner,
0:15.1	in the context of a Supreme Court that has vastly expanded presidential powers,
0:20.1	that should alarm everybody.
0:25.5	That's Darren Asimoglu.
0:27.9	He's an Institute professor of economics at MIT and a co-recipient of the 2024 Nobel Prize
0:33.7	in Economic Sciences.
0:36.0	His research focuses on how political and economic institutions
0:38.9	influence growth and opportunity, both on the national level and in people's daily lives.
0:45.1	This week, he joins me to discuss the economic stakes of shifting institutional norms in the U.S.,
0:50.2	including President Trump's desire to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, and the announcement that the government will take a roughly 10% passive equity stake in the company Intel.
1:00.1	Then I'll answer a question about the latest developments in the Kilmar-Obrego-Garcia deportation case
1:04.5	and discuss Governor Gavin Newsom's recent use of satire on social media.
1:09.9	That's coming up.
1:11.4	Stay tuned.
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	...

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