Libertarian Vs. MAGA: Trump’s Economic Nationalism Reveals Fault-Lines

On September 19, President Trump issued a proclamation imposing a $100,000 one-time fee on new H-1B visa petitions.

He’s also pressing for equity stakes for the federal government in strategic U.S. firms—such as a reported bid for up to 10% ownership of Lithium Americas tied to its DOE loan deals. And the administration already holds stakes in Intel, MP Materials, and others, shifting grants and subsidies toward direct ownership.

The moves have brought an ideological divide on the right to the surface. Namely between the libertarians, capitalists, “free market” guys and MAGA, nationalist, America First camps.

ZeroHedge is putting it on trial, tonight.

Tonight at 7 pm ET, live on the ZeroHedge homepage, X, YouTube, and Rumble:

Peter Schiff vs. Spencer P. Morrison and moderated by Keith Knight.

Topic: Do Trump’s worker-first policies save America—or destroy it?

Peter Schiff has warned broadly about the GOP shift toward protectionism:

Let me get this straight: the Republican Party now favors concentrating power in one individual to impose protectionist tariffs, centrally plan the economy, nationalize stakes in private businesses, and use the Fed to create massive inflation to monetize soaring budget deficits.

— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) August 25, 2025

On the H-1B surcharge, Schiff argues it may backfire:

One of the unintended consequences of Trump’s $100K fee on H-1B visas is that companies will outsource the work outside of the U.S. Remote workers won’t pay U.S. income taxes or spend their earnings in ways that benefit local landlords or other U.S. businesses and their workers.

— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) September 26, 2025

Morrison, by contrast, insists the $100K H-1B “fee” is far too weak to protect American labor and was ticked off by Trump/Lutnick’s reversal from it being an annual fee to one-time:

Tune in at 7 pm ET on ZeroHedge / X / YouTube / Rumble. It will subsequently be posted to our Spotify.