It is unclear from its statement how big a stake in U.S. Steel the Cleveland-based finance company currently has. In September, Trump said despite all of Nippon's broad promises, he is still set on not having a foreign company own an American one that is so central to national security. "U.S. Steel was the greatest corporation in the world 70 years ago. It was the biggest, best in the whole world," Trump said, adding that "we have to bring that greatness back" but under U.S. ownership. "We can't have foreign companies owning our steel companies where they can close it down in case there's a war in Asia," he explained. A website published by the activist investor is, unsurprisingly, called " Make U.S. Steel Great Again ." In 2023, U.S. Steel shocked the region and the nation when it agreed to sell a company that was once the largest in the world to Nippon Steel for over $14 billion. It was a deal that former President Joe Biden blocked in January and one that Trump said in September he opposed.