Trump likes the idea of the government owning some US companies but took a pass on Spirit Airlines

ABC News·May 2

Trump likes the idea of the government owning some US companies but took a pass on Spirit Airlines

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump had no qualms about a government takeover of Spirit Airlines, so long as the terms could be portrayed as a financial victory in what would have been the latest addition to a taxpayer-backed conglomerate of business interests. But the budget carrier ceased operations on Saturday after reaching an impasse with an administration that increasingly sees the government as an activist investor that will shape the path of the U.S. economy.While Trump has long railed against Democrats and other opponents as communists — the antithesis of the free market ethos that helped America grow into a superpower — he has taken a shine to the government owning some of the means of production since he has been back in the Oval Office.Trump sees opportunities in preserving legacy brand companies such as Intel and possibly making a tidy profit for Uncle Sam. The Republican president views the investments as critical for economic security and emblematic of his own dealmaking skills, overturning what had been GOP dogma that government should avoid picking winners and losers. In the case of Spirit, a cash-strapped budget airline that faced surging fuel costs caused by the Iran war, Trump told reporters on