Ray Dalio Warns Trump Is Leading U.S. Toward “1930s-Style Autocracy”

Billionaire hedge fund founder Ray Dalio has sounded the alarm over Donald Trump’s leadership style, warning that the U.S. is moving closer to an era of “1930s-style autocracy.”

In an interview with the Financial Times, the Bridgewater Associates founder drew parallels between the Trump administration’s economic policies and the rise of authoritarian leaders during the Great Depression. He pointed to Trump’s recent move to acquire a 10 percent government stake in Intel as an example of troubling intervention in private industry.

Dalio explained that such actions recall “strong autocratic leadership that sprang out of the desire to take control of the financial and economic situation.” He suggested that many on Wall Street are unwilling to challenge Trump publicly. “Most people are silent because they are afraid of retaliation if they criticize,” Dalio said.

The veteran financier, whose fortune is estimated at $15.4 billion, argued that Trump’s policies are thriving in an environment shaped by widening wealth inequality, cultural division, and falling trust in institutions. “I think that what is happening now politically and socially is analogous to what happened around the world in the 1930-40 period,” he said.

Dalio further warned that growing economic divides fuel populism on both ends of the political spectrum, creating “irreconcilable differences between them that can’t be resolved through the democratic process.” The result, he argued, is a weakened democracy and “more autocratic leadership,” as citizens trade freedoms for promises of stability.

Trump’s recent efforts to limit press freedoms, punish political rivals, and assert dominance over independent institutions have deepened those concerns. Dalio highlighted in particular the president’s attempts to fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, a Biden appointee who has since filed a lawsuit to contest his move.

A central bank controlled by the White House, Dalio warned, would “undermine the confidence in the Fed defending the value of money and make holding dollar-denominated debt assets less attractive, which would weaken the monetary order as we know it.”

Dalio is not alone in his criticism. Even Trump supporters such as Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary have voiced unease over the administration’s Intel stake. “I abhor this idea. I really do,” O’Leary said on CNBC. “What has made America so great for 200 years is the government stays in its lane, and the private sector does what it does so successfully.”

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