*By Spencer Feingold & Justin Chermol*
Greedy corporations and their unyielding control over politicians in Washington is the most urgent issue facing the country, according to Tom Steyer, the billionaire progressive activist and the latest Democratic hopeful to join the 2020 race.
Steyer told Cheddar Thursday that breaking the "corporate stranglehold on our government and our politics" should be a top priority. "Until we get that right, we are not getting any Green New Deal, we're not getting any major change to health policy."
Steyer, 62, joined the crowded field of candidates earlier this week with an announcement video that focused heavily on the avarice of big business and its undue influence.
"If you look over the past 40 years, you've seen this corporate takeover of democracy," Steyer told Cheddar Thursday. "And one measure of that is how much the very top of America has profited."
Steyer has a rare perspective on the power wealth can yield. He made his fortune as the head of an investment firm and is worth roughly $1.6 billion, according to [Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/profile/thomas-steyer/#5765d41673f5). He is a signatory to the Giving Pledge, a coalition of ultra-wealthy individuals that have promised to give away at least half of their wealth to charitable causes.
Yet Steyer wants structural changes to shift the fiscal norms in American society. He called for "a living wage as a constitutional right in American society" to help curb growing income inequality, noting that the U.S. is "rich enough to do this."
In recent years, Steyer has also championed several progessive causes, most notably confronting the climate crisis, and has been heavily involved in California politics and nationwide issues through his liberal advocacy group NextGen America. He has also been a leading voice in the impeachment movement against President Trump through his Need to Impeach organization, which lobbies members of Congress and has since gained over 8.2 million supporters.
Steyer's entrance into the race, however, has been met with some backlash, most notably from the more progressive contenders.
"The Democratic primary should not be decided by billionaires, whether they're funding Super PACs or funding themselves. The strongest Democratic nominee in the general will have a coalition that's powered by a grassroots movement," Massachuetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren said on Twitter.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders — a longtime skeptic of the ultra-wealthy — told MSNBC that while he liked Steyer personally, he is "tired of seeing billionaires trying to buy political power."
Steyer, nonetheless, pitched himself as an outsider to the political system with a better understanding of the concerns of the public.
"For the last 10 years, I've been working as an outsider trying to get things done according to the will of the people," he said.
Combating the climate crisis, Steyer said, is one of his key priorities.
"Imagine we broke the corporation stranglehold … Imagine that we had a stable natural environment," he said. "We could be in the best position of any people in the history of the world."
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to block states from regulating artificial intelligence. He argues that heavy regulations could stifle the industry, especially given competition from China. Trump says the U.S. needs a unified approach to AI regulation to avoid complications from state-by-state rules. The order directs the administration to draw up a list of problematic regulations for the Attorney General to challenge. States with laws could lose access to broadband funding, according to the text of the order. Some states have already passed AI laws focusing on transparency and limiting data collection.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
House Republicans in key battleground districts are working to contain the political fallout expected when thousands of their constituents face higher bills for health insurance coverage obtained through the Affordable Care Act. For a critical sliver of the GOP majority, the impending expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits after Dec. 31 could be a major political liability as they potentially face midterm headwinds in a 2026 election critical to President Donald Trump’s agenda. For Democrats, the party’s strategy for capturing the House majority revolves around pinning higher bills for groceries, health insurance and utilities on Republicans.
President Donald Trump says a deal struck by Netflix last week to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share. The Republican president says he will be involved in the decision about whether federal regulators should approve the deal. Trump commented Sunday when he was asked about the deal as he walked the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors. The $72 billion deal would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.
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