OPINION:
Turns out President Trump is not just an oil-and-gas man. The family business he founded has embraced a new technology to replicate the sun’s energy right here on Earth.
I asked former congressman Devin Nunes, chairman of the board and CEO of Trump Media and Technology Group, why the Truth Social platform broke out of cyberspace. Trump Media and Technology Group is taking a ride on leading-edge nuclear fusion that may one day power much of America.
“We’re essentially undertaking a second Manhattan Project,” Mr. Nunes told The Washington Times.
I asked this question because Mr. Trump has championed a “drill, baby, drill” philosophy, rejecting climate change alarmists in favor of delivering affordable oil, gasoline and natural gas. His stated goal: “Energy dominance.”
Behind the scenes, Mr. Nunes has been negotiating with TAE Technologies to merge and join the quest for a non-fossil-fuel alternative that is generally safer than nuclear fission reactors in operation today. The two firms announced Dec. 18 that the boards of directors approved the merger in an all-stock, $6 billion transaction. Each company’s shareholders will own 50% of the shares.
“When TMTG started, conservatives, including President Trump, were being canceled and banned by social media companies,” Mr. Nunes said. “So we solved the free speech problem by creating our own digital infrastructure for social media and TV streaming, and now we’re looking at the energy problem in a similar way. We’re essentially undertaking a second Manhattan Project to unleash a new technology that will change America’s standing in the world.”
Mr. Nunes was chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence when he caught the eye of first-term President Trump. Mr. Nunes suspected that the FBI was trafficking a hoax Democratic Party dossier to abuse Mr. Trump and his team. He published his findings, exposing the FBI as a partner in crime with the left.
Today, Mr. Nunes has two jobs. He runs Trump Media and Technology Group and is chairman of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board. The intel board makes Mr. Nunes one of Mr. Trump’s key advisers on global developments.
I asked Mr. Nunes whether Trump Media and Technology Group’s embrace of nukes is an acknowledgment that we need to move away from fossil fuels.
“My whole career, I’ve advocated for an all-of-the-above energy policy that maximizes all available resources,” he said. “We’ll need fossil fuels for the foreseeable future, but fusion will be an absolutely vital addition to the mix.”
How does fusion reach Mr. Trump’s goal of U.S. “energy dominance”?
“Fusion’s potential output of limitless energy will move us past energy independence into energy dominance, and beyond that, it stands to be transformational for our entire economy,” said Mr. Nunes. He, like Mr. Trump, is a skeptic of global warming.
“Everyone should want fusion to succeed for their own good,” he said. “For those who believe in catastrophic global warming, this technology is a godsend, a source of abundant, carbon-free, clean energy. For those of us who don’t believe in it, fusion is simply the best, most cost-effective technology to greatly expand our overall energy supply.”
Before taking office on Jan. 20, Mr. Trump moved his Trump Media and Technology Group majority 53% ownership shares into the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, says a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Donald Trump Jr., a board member, is the sole trustee.
Mr. Trump relinquished his position as chairman of Trump Media and Technology Group in March 2024 after consummating a merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp. The idea of going nuclear did not arise until after Mr. Trump resigned. Mr. Trump is due to leave the presidency in January 2029, at which time he could resume an active corporate role.
Nuclear experts say the first functional fusion plant will be online sometime in the 2030s. TAE wants regulatory approval so it can begin constructing the first commercial fusion plant in 2026.
The merger gives TAE access to Trump Media and Technology Group’s capital and gives Trump Media and Technology Group access to an emerging technology to pair with its digital portfolio.
The U.S. is in a competition with China to win the race for the best artificial intelligence. Huge AI data centers are sprouting up across America and quickly devouring electric power. “Fusion power plants are expected to provide economic, abundant, and dependable electricity that would help America win the AI revolution and maintain its global economic dominance,” the two companies said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency released a paper on fusion in 2023 that can serve as a handy guide for exactly what the Trump family is getting into.
Why is fusion so appealing to a leader like Mr. Trump? Because he understands fusion is a highway to maintaining America’s world dominance against communist China, radical Islam and other threats.
Energy fusion basically needs two hydrogen atoms: deuterium, which can be harvested from seawater, and tritium, which can come from the reaction of fusion-made neutrons with lithium.
“These fuel supplies would last for millions of years,” the IAEA paper reads. “Future fusion reactors are also intrinsically safe and are not expected to produce high activity or long-lived nuclear waste.”
Mr. Trump is not on the Trump Media and Technology Group board, but his persona dominates his creation. He is a prolific author on his @realDonaldTrump Truth Social account, with a platform-leading 11.2 million followers.
• Rowan Scarborough is a columnist with The Washington Times.
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