How Corporate Executives Like H\u00f6ttges Indulge in Trump\u2019s Illusions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is a statement that defies comprehension. Timotheus H\u00f6ttges, CEO of Deutsche Telekom, has publicly praised Donald Trump's reindustrialization policy. During the company\u2019s quarterly earnings presentation on May 15, 2025, he stated that one must recognize that the U.S. is proceeding \u201cstrategically\u201d \u2013 with a focus on energy security, data centers, and reshoring of manufacturing. Europe, he said, should take a page from that playbook. What H\u00f6ttges didn\u2019t mention: the economic indicators underlying this assessment are far from stable under Trump \u2013 they are alarming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While democratic institutions are under pressure in the U.S. during Trump\u2019s second term, migrants are being deported without legal hearings, and human rights are being systematically violated, it is the CEO of a DAX-listed company who appears impressed by what is increasingly described internationally as the economic fa\u00e7ade of an authoritarian power apparatus. What comes next? A free Telekom phone for every deportee in Nayib Bukele\u2019s CECOT prison?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
H\u00f6ttges, whose company profits massively from the American market through T-Mobile USA, not only ignores the actual market realities with his statements \u2013 he also turns a blind eye to the political consequences of the policies he is praising. While hundreds of thousands from Venezuela, Haiti, or El Salvador are deported through questionable fast-track procedures \u2013 many of them to mega-prisons like CECOT near San Salvador \u2013 H\u00f6ttges speaks of competitiveness and strategic foresight. But the economic facts tell a different story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Industrial production in the U.S. declined by 0.7% in March 2025. The economy contracted by -0.3% in the first quarter. Energy prices are highly volatile, and unemployment is rising in rural regions despite grandiose infrastructure programs. The $200 billion in investments announced by Trump largely exist only on paper \u2013 concrete allocation plans are still missing. At the same time, the federal deficit has surpassed the eight percent mark of GDP, according to the Congressional Budget Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Particularly hard hit is agriculture. To prevent a mass extinction of farming businesses \u2013 triggered by Trump\u2019s protectionist tariff policies \u2013 the White House announced $14 billion in direct payments to prevent bankruptcies. It is a paradoxical policy: Trump\u2019s \u201cAmerica First\u201d is costing the American public billions without delivering long-term stability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
H\u00f6ttges\u2019 comments do not come across as a sober assessment, but rather as an expression of economic opportunism \u2013 driven by a company that depends heavily on government approvals and market access in the U.S. The merger with Sprint, approved under Trump\u2019s Justice Department, cemented Deutsche Telekom\u2019s influence in the American market \u2013 now with around 120 million customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Especially critical: Deutsche Telekom is partially state-owned. The German federal government holds approximately 30 percent of the company\u2019s shares, directly and indirectly through KfW. That a CEO of such a company would publicly express support for a government that operates through mass deportations, authoritarian decrees, and systemic disenfranchisement raises fundamental questions \u2013 not only about economic judgment but also about moral integrity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the same time, tensions exist between corporations like Walmart and the Trump administration, due to announced cuts to social programs and Trump\u2019s demand that companies not pass on price increases caused by new tariffs to consumers. And \u2013 egg prices remain high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is this dangerous mix of economic denial and political ignorance that makes executives like H\u00f6ttges a risk \u2013 not only to their own companies but to the very idea of corporate responsibility in a democracy. In a time when court decisions are ignored, minorities are disenfranchised, and people are deported without due process, anyone who holds up Trump as an economic role model disqualifies themselves as a credible leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Deutsche Telekom is not just any company. It also stands for European values, the rule of law, and social responsibility. A CEO who becomes intoxicated by the illusion of authoritarian power fails to meet that standard \u2013 he endangers it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is needed now is not image repair. What is needed is principle. And consequence. Anyone who praises Trump in this situation is not rising above the debate \u2013 they are placing themselves on the wrong side of history and need to be replaced.<\/p>\n
Wie sich Konzernmanager wie H\u00f6ttges an Trumps Illusionen berauschen. Es ist eine Aussage, die jegliches Verst\u00e4ndnis \u00fcbersteigt. Timotheus H\u00f6ttges, Vorstandsvorsitzender der Deutschen Telekom, hat \u00f6ffentlich Donald Trumps Reindustrialisierungspolitik gelobt. Bei der Pr\u00e4sentation der Quartalszahlen am 15. Mai 2025 erkl\u00e4rte er, man m\u00fcsse anerkennen, dass die USA \u201estrategisch\u201c vorgingen \u2013 mit Fokus auf Energiesicherheit, Datenzentren und […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":995,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[42,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-eu-news","category-topstory"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kaizen-blog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/hoettkes-telekom-trump.webp?fit=988%2C492&ssl=1","author_info":{"display_name":"Rainer Hofmann","author_link":"https:\/\/kaizen-blog.org\/en\/author\/admin\/"},"yoast_head":"\n