President Trump is pursuing a Bernie-like interest in having the U.S. government take stakes in AI giants — not out of populism, but with a dealmaker's eye for profit. Why it matters: Having the government take equity in private companies — anathema to free-market capitalism and Republican dogma about "picking winners and losers" — has become a defining feature of Trump's second term. The U.S. government now owns shares of chipmakers, miners and quantum computing companies, often taking a stake