Reviewing: “The Power and the Money: The Epic Clashes Between Commanders in Chief and Titans of Industry” by Tevi Troy. Regnery History. 2024. Hardcover. 368 pages. ISBN-13: 978-1684515400.

Without a deep sense of history, we can be easily misled into thinking that current events on the national political scene involving industry leaders and U.S. presidents—such as X/Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s enthusiastic support of former President Donald Trump in the 2024 president race or the seemingly sunny coverage that Jeff Bezos’ Washington Post regularly devotes to Democratic candidates and causes—are truly novel and unprecedented.

Those who seek a deeper and more informed understanding of interactions between U.S. presidents and CEOs of major companies are fortunate to now have an exceptionally well-researched resource (with over 40 pages of detailed footnotes!) that chronicles over 150 years of history in this area.

“The Power and the Money: The Epic Clashes Between Commanders in Chief and Titans of Industry,” by Tevi Troy, PhD, is a thoughtful look at the cooperation, clashes, and their consequences as the leaders of the free world and the leaders of the largest U.S. companies navigated their shared and separate interests, from the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877) to the presidency of Joe Biden (2021-present).

One of the many insights one gains in reading this impressive compilation is that outrageous behavior—by CEOs and U.S. presidents—is by no means a recent phenomenon. Two examples from the book illustrate this point well.

When longtime pacifist Henry Ford, the CEO of the Ford Motor Company, met with President Woodrow Wilson in November 1915, after the start of World War I, Ford urged the president to make strenuous efforts to resolve the conflict peacefully. When Wilson was “understandably noncommittal,” Ford declared: “I have today charted a steamship. I offer it to you to send delegates to Europe. If you feel you can’t act, I will.” Wilson resisted and had Ford removed from the White House. Ford did send his steamship with peace delegates to Europe, which had no effect on the course of the war, and he received a deluge of bad press as a result.

Henry Luce, the CEO of Time magazine, a Republican and staunch anti-communist, disdained the policies of the two prior Democratic Party presidents and determined that he would help bring into office a Republican Party successor in 1952—despite his backing of losing Republican candidates in the two prior elections. He met with Dwight Eisenhower, the former commander of Allied Forces in World War II, and found him very appealing as a potential candidate. He had Time print an editorial praising Eisenhower, gave the Eisenhower campaign two speechwriters and a campaign adviser from his staff, had the magazine print frequent favorable coverage of Eisenhower, and helped enlist to the cause the man who became secretary of state in Eisenhower’s administration, John Foster Dulles.

In addition to the many rich historical anecdotes in the book, the background of the author is also quite fascinating.

Troy is an observant Jew who served as a former deputy secretary of health and human services in the administration of President George W. Bush. He is now a senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a senior scholar at Yeshiva University’s Strauss Center, and a visiting fellow at the Mercatus Center. He has written five books on the U.S. presidency. Troy and his wife, Kami, live in Maryland and have four children.

The Jewish Link reached out to Troy and asked him a few questions about his remarkable career in government and scholarship.

What inspired you to pursue a career in politics and political commentary?

I grew up in New York in the 1970s. It was a difficult time, with crime, economic woes and foreign policy challenges. We were also conscious of the Holocaust and of the fact that if my grandparents had not come to America, we would not have been born. For that reason I had tremendous hakarat hatov—gratitude—for this great country and wanted to get involved in politics and policy to see if I could help this country as it had helped us.

What were the first steps in your career?

My first job after college was at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. I worked for Ben Wattenberg, a Lyndon Johnson speechwriter who had become an author and columnist. He taught me a lot about Washington and how one could have a positive influence. I was also inspired by all of the scholars at AEI, and I noticed that they tended to have three things: an advanced degree, senior government experience, and a well-received book or article that helped make their name. I set about doing those things for myself: I got a PhD from the University of Texas at Austin, wrote a dissertation that became my first book, and went to work in government for 13 years, including at the White House and as deputy secretary of HHS.

What is your guiding philosophy in your work?

I think about it through the physicians’ guidance: first, do no harm. So many times politicians say they want government to fix a problem, but the so-called solution either makes things worse or creates worse problems in other areas. I’m a big fan of what’s known as the “Google test” for public policy. If a Google search reveals that a solution to a public policy problem already exists, it’s best not to create a new government program to address that problem.

Have you experienced situations where your identity as an observant Jew clashed with your public leadership roles? If yes, how did you handle it?

I was fortunate to work for a series of religious Christians who were incredibly respectful of my religious beliefs and practices. That said, political jobs require a lot of hours, and keeping Shabbat meant that I was sometimes unavailable. I handled that by working harder the rest of the time, and by always being willing to cover when my non-Jewish colleagues had their holidays.

What advice would you offer young people who aspire to work in politics?

Read. Think. Be strong in your beliefs but willing to engage with people who have different views. And approach things with a spirit of optimism. As Ronald Reagan said, “I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead.”

Harry Glazer is the Middlesex County editor of The Jewish Link. He can be reached at [email protected] and he welcomes reader feedback.