Democrats are furious over how the Trump administration is treating private companies and demanding compliance and censorship. They vow that when and if they are returned to power, they will — well, treat private companies exactly the same!
Seriously, that’s the plan: Punish anybody and everybody who went along with President Trump, made some decision that was in line with what Trump wanted, or made programming decisions that catered to the preferences of MAGA.
Don’t take my word for it. Here was Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell the other day vowing to vindictively investigate or sanction Trump-complicit companies and individuals.
“We’re going into the majority a year from now. … We will bring oversight and accountability, we will subpoena the Department of Justice, but also private actors who have done these drug deals with the administration, college campuses, entertainment companies, law firms. Accountability is coming.”
“The beatings will continue until morale improves!” That’s the Democrats’ message, basically. “Don’t do what Trump wants, or we’ll hurt you.”
Swalwell is clearly referencing a couple different things: universities agreeing to abide by certain Education Department policies, media companies ridding themselves of liberal, unfunny late-night hosts, law firms deciding not to do battle with Trump, and so on. I certainly don’t agree with the decisions that all of these institutions have made, but they have the right to make them, and they have the right to react to incentives.
Do I think the federal government should pressure these companies to behave a certain way? Of course not. And I’ve criticized Trump for being too heavy-handed when it came to the universities, to Kimmel, and on other issues. Just as I criticized Joe Biden for exhorting social media companies to censor more content.
What it sounds like — what Swalwell is conceding — is that the Democrats have no principled opposition to what Trump is doing at all: They just don’t like Trump.
It’s not a very good sales pitch.
Imagine if Democrats were reacting to this most by saying: “Hey you, tech CEO. Hey you, media company. Hey you, law firm, school or television host. When we’re in charge we’re gonna leave you alone: We will let you do right by your customers, and prosper as a firm, as a business, as an institution.” That would be an enticing proposal. Maybe it would tempt more private-sector leaders into supporting Democrats. But it ain’t gonna happen.
Democrats are ideologically committed to the idea that they should use jawboning, antitrust and punitive regulation do destroy companies that get in their way, support policies they don’t like, cause nebulous and ill-defined consumer “harms” as determined by the likes of Elizabeth Warren and Lina Khan, or are just plain too successful. Trump, on other hand, is merely selectively opposed to firms that are mean to him: His opposition is not ideological whatsoever. It’s deeply personal.
That’s still not great, to be clear. But firms have figured out that they can work with it. Don’t go too hard against Trump, and you’re going to get left alone. Meanwhile, even if your company bends over backward to appease the Democrats, there will still be committed progressives and even socialists within the party who are determined to destroy you.
Swalwell isn’t even particularly progressive — he’s just another liberal Democrat, and even he is dying to investigate companies and schools that went along with Trump. You can bet the hard left is salivating over the prospect of doing even more.
This is exactly why the business community is going to remain safely in Republican hands. I’m sure that nobody at ABC or CBS or wherever else likes getting yelled at by Trump. But they likely know that the alternative is much, much worse.
Robby Soave is co-host of The Hill’s commentary show “Rising” and a senior editor for Reason Magazine. This column is an edited transcription of his daily commentary.
