Trump Pushes Rare Earth Magnets, Could MP and USAR Become the Next "Trump Trade" Stocks?

President Trump recently urged the U.S. industrial base to "make magnets," shining a spotlight on fragile American supply chains and throwing strong support behind domestic producers MP Materials Corp. and USA Rare Earth Inc.

Following politically driven stock surges in traditional tech giants like Intel Corp. and Dell Technologies Inc., investors are now weighing whether these federally funded rare earth companies could become the market's next stars.

The President's "Make Magnets" Mandate

Trump delivered a clear directive to American businesses during his speech at the Defense and Innovation Summit in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on July 15.

"I hope you're all smart people. Magnets. Make magnets," he declared. He pointed to the critical national security need for rare earth permanent magnets—a market currently dominated by Chinese manufacturers—and added, "Well, I'll tell you how to make money. Make magnets... I guarantee it will work."

Since Trump framed this as a defense mandate for the entire industry rather than an endorsement of any single company's stock, market momentum naturally shifted toward established, pure-play companies that are scaling up to fill the supply gap.

Billion-Dollar Government Equity Stakes

Unlike standard political endorsements, the federal government is backing its magnet push with unprecedented capital. The Department of Defense acquired a 15% equity stake in MP Materials through a $400 million investment, while also guaranteeing a 10-year offtake agreement and price floor to protect the company's Texas magnet facility.

Similarly, the government is acquiring a 10% stake in USA Rare Earth as part of a massive $1.6 billion package to develop an Oklahoma magnet facility and a Texas mine. These aggressive investments formally designate rare earth magnets as critical defense infrastructure.

Both companies are rapidly scaling their complex mine-to-magnet operations. MP Materials extracts and purifies neodymium and praseodymium at its facility in Fort Worth, Texas, using advanced powder metallurgy and grain boundary diffusion technology to manufacture high-performance sintered neodymium-iron-boron magnets. Meanwhile, USA Rare Earth extracts heavy rare earths, processes them into specialty alloys, and produces finished sintered permanent magnets at its 310,000-square-foot plant in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

The INTC and DELL Playbook

Traders are closely watching how Trump's recent interventions have moved markets. In May 2026, after Trump explicitly urged the public to "go out and buy a Dell computer," Dell's stock surged over 12% to an all-time high. Earlier this year, the government converted unpaid CHIPS Act grants into a $5.7 billion, 10% equity stake in Intel to rescue its foundry business, with Trump later boasting that the Treasury made $3 billion in 90 days.

However, the ethics of these tech stock rallies remain murky, with public financial disclosures showing Trump purchased between $1 million and $5 million in Dell stock shortly before the endorsement, and over $5 million in Intel bonds following the government equity announcement.

While Trump does not personally own MP or USAR stock, the government's massive equity positions and his explicit demand for America to "make magnets" strongly suggest that lucrative "Trump trade" stocks have shifted from traditional tech to defense.

How Are MP and USAR Performing in 2026?

MP stock is up 8.95% year-to-date, down 19.26% over the past year, and down 0.54% over the past six months. It closed Thursday down 2.89% at $55.04 per share, with after-hours trading up 0.71%. The Edge stock ranking indicates MP maintains strong price trends in the short and medium term, but weaker long-term trends.

USAR stock is up 43.78% year-to-date, up 19.90% over the past year, and down 0.70% over the past six months. It closed Thursday down 5.42% at $17.11 per share, with after-hours trading up 1.29%. The Edge stock ranking indicates USAR maintains weaker price trends across the short, medium, and long term.