By OBBM Network Editorial Staff

Derived from an episode of Veronica LIVE.

Antitrust law, once the quiet guardian of competitive markets, has turned into a political weapon. That’s the stark conclusion Robert Bork Jr. reaches in his new book, The New Paradox, Antitrust, and the Threat of Conservative Socialism, as he tells host Veronica Kemeny on Veronica LIVE.

From Journalism to the Hill: Bork’s Personal Journey

Robert Bork Jr. spent the early part of his career covering business for U.S. News & World Report in 1987, the year his father was nominated to the Supreme Court. After his father’s defeat, Bork left journalism, calling it “a very dishonest profession,” and moved into speechwriting for the U.S. Trade Representative and later for CEOs through the White House Writers Group. He eventually settled into a home‑based operation in the Washington, D.C. suburbs, where he has spent the last three decades writing and researching policy.

His personal history provides the backdrop for a book that critiques the antitrust framework that has dominated U.S. policy since the 1979 Supreme Court decision in Bell‑Atlantic Corp. v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. The decision cemented the “consumer‑welfare” standard, which Bork describes as the “operating system for antitrust enforcement” for 45 years.

The Consumer‑Welfare Standard and Its Discontents

The consumer‑welfare approach judges mergers primarily on whether they lower prices for shoppers. Bork argues that this narrow focus ignores the broader benefits of innovation and the dynamic efficiencies that large, integrated firms can deliver. He notes that the Supreme Court’s 8‑0 vote (with one justice abstaining) in the 1979 case set the stage for a regulatory environment that, according to him, helped fuel the post‑Reagan economic expansion.

“If you understand what antitrust is, basically it’s a system of allowing consumers to get a benefit from the innovation that American companies are famous for,” Bork says. “You only get in the way of that innovation when you block mergers designed to produce it.”

The Biden Administration and the FTC’s New Direction

Under President Biden, the Federal Trade Commission, led by Commissioner Lina Khan, began dismantling the consumer‑welfare language from merger guidelines. Bork points out that the FTC’s revised policy “deletes any references to the consumer welfare standard” and instead pushes for more aggressive case filings.

He argues that this shift has chilled investment: “They blocked a lot of deals. They could never get courts to actually overrule the consumer welfare standard. And then they went on their way… It slowed growth because people were afraid to do anything.” Bork cites the blocked Spirit‑JetBlue merger as a case in point, noting that Spirit eventually went out of business despite no clear economic justification for the FTC’s intervention.

President Trump’s Antitrust Outlook

Contrary to expectations that the Trump administration would reverse the Biden‑era policies, Bork observes that President Trump shared a similar view of using antitrust as a tool to reshape the economy. While Trump is not a lawyer, Bork says, “you don’t have to be a lawyer to understand law.”
The president’s America First agenda, according to Bork, emphasizes control over business activity rather than a pure free‑market approach. He notes that Trump’s tariff strategy—intended to protect American workers—has “limited use” and “doesn’t improve output.”

Nevertheless, Bork acknowledges that Trump’s willingness to challenge entrenched interests aligns with the book’s call for a “return to free markets,” a principle he says “is really the foundation of what made this country great.”

Tech, Free Speech, and the Future of Antitrust

Beyond traditional mergers, Bork warns that antitrust is being misapplied to issues of speech and platform regulation. He argues that Section 230, which shields online platforms from liability, “clearly needs to be amended or a new law written” to protect free expression rather than to punish large tech firms.

He stresses that any antitrust action must be grounded in rigorous economic analysis, not “just my feelings.” “If there’s actually something where they are harming consumers, bring a case. But you got to prove that and you got to use economics to prove that,” he says.

In a broader sense, Bork’s critique ties together concerns about a growing merger of political and economic power—a phenomenon he labels “conservative socialism.” He argues that this trend threatens both innovation and the constitutional guarantee of free speech.

Overall, the conversation on Veronica LIVE highlights a clash of philosophies: a longstanding antitrust doctrine that favors consumer price benefits versus a newer, more activist approach that seeks to curb corporate size regardless of market outcomes. As the nation debates the proper role of government in the marketplace, Bork’s book adds a conservative voice calling for a return to principles that, in his view, have historically driven American prosperity.

In the coming months, policymakers will grapple with whether to restore the consumer‑welfare framework or continue expanding antitrust scrutiny. The outcome will shape not only the fate of large mergers but also the broader landscape of innovation, free speech, and economic growth.

The full episode of Veronica LIVE is available on OBBM Network TV.