If a Franchise System Was Run Like Trump Runs America, Franchisees Would Get Crushed

I’ve spent 25+ years in the franchise industry. I’ve seen good franchisors. I’ve seen bad ones. I’ve seen systems that looked great in the brochure and turned into nightmares the moment you signed on the dotted line.

But I’ve never seen anything quite like what’s happening in Washington right now.

Now, you can remain in denial. It’s your choice.

But our country is in deep trouble.

As of This Writing, the United States is in Trouble

There’s only one reason we’re in trouble.

It’s because we elected Trump to be President. The result?

Trump’s tariffs are costing small businesses and consumers a ton of money.

Likewise, inflation still isn’t improving. And interest rates are high.

So much for “lowering costs on day one.”

Oh…and Trump stupidly started a war with a nation that has lots of powerful weapons and 90 million people who take serious pride in their country and culture.

Remember, Trump campaigned on withdrawing from “forever conflicts” and stopping the US from being the “policeman of the world.

And it got me thinking; what would actually happen to a franchise brand — and the franchisees who invested their life savings into it, if the business was run the same way?

Let me show you.

What Would Trump-Like Franchisor Behavior Look Like? 6 Horrible Examples

1. The FDD Would Change Every Week

You sign a franchise agreement. You borrow $300,000. You hire a team of employees. You advertise. You open your doors.

Then Monday morning hits.

All of a sudden, headquarters dictates new operational requirements. Reversed policies. Core brand standards…gone. Not because the franchisee advisory council voted on it. Not because the data supported it. Because the person at the top decided it. By memo. Overnight.

That’s exactly what’s happening with tariff policy right now. Businesses across America are trying to plan, budget, and survive while the rules keep shifting on a weekly basis.

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Franchise Fact: Uncertainty kills franchise growth. Franchisees borrow real money to open real businesses. Lenders need stability. If the franchisor’s policies shift based on mood or ego, the SBA probably won’t touch it. And smart investors will walk.

Wait. Don’t get me started on all the things the SBA Administrator has been doing to gut the SBA.

A Loyalty-First Franchise System Would Suck

2. Loyalists Get Rewarded. Performers Get Watched.

In a healthy franchise system, the best operators get recognized. They get support. They get held up as models for the rest of the system to follow.

But in a loyalty-first system?

The franchisee who publicly praises the CEO and the other executives at every convention gets the prime territory. The one who raises a legitimate concern at a franchisee summit — about food costs, about marketing fund spending, about an internet marketing program that doesn’t work in their market? A question about perceived high royalties?

Suddenly their renewal is “under review.”

That’s not a franchise system. That’s a protection racket with a logo.

3. Vendors and Suppliers Get Weaponized

Every franchise system has an approved vendor list. That list is supposed to serve franchisees. Lower costs through volume purchases. Consistent quality across locations. Protection for the brand.

Now imagine that list changing based on who the franchisor is feuding with that week.

Your approved food supplier? Gone. New one costs 30% more. Your marketing fund? Redirected to promote the franchisor’s personal brand. Your local co-op advertising dollars? Who knows where those went.

Maybe the CEO and her family pockets that money.

Franchisees eat the losses. The franchisor collects royalties either way.

Sound familiar? It should.

Because it’s Trump-like behavior.

So Much for Franchisee Advisory Councils

4. The Franchisee Advisory Council Becomes Theater

A lot of franchise brands have a Franchisee Advisory Council. An FAC gives operators a real voice. Legitimate concerns get raised. Real issues get addressed. It’s one of the signs of a healthy system.

In this scenario? The FAC gets gutted…shut down. Or it stays alive as a prop. Hand-picked members. Scripted meetings. Zero real pushback allowed.

Labor costs killing your location? Good luck. Royalty structure eating your margins? Noted. Marketing fund being mismanaged? Someone will look into it. Eventually.

Nobody looks into it.

5. Speak Up and Get Punished

This is where it gets really ugly. And super-Trump-like.

Any franchisee who talks to the press, files a complaint with the FTC, or starts organizing with other owners to push back on the franchisor?

They get audited. Their transfer request gets denied. Their renewal gets slow-walked until they give up or go away.

Here’s the thing. I’ve seen versions of this in real franchise systems. Bad franchisors have been doing this for years. The current political playbook didn’t invent retribution. It just made it normal.

That’s dangerous. In Washington and in franchising.

A Dying Trump-Like Franchise Brand

6. The Brand Itself Starts Dying

Consumer trust in a franchise brand is everything. Walk into any location and you expect the same experience. That consistency is the whole point.

But if the franchisor is constantly in the news for erratic decisions, public feuds, potential grifting like Burgerim and policy reversals, customers notice. They get uncomfortable. Foot traffic drops. Sales slide. Franchisees suffer. The brand can suffer a lot.

And the franchisor? They keep collecting royalties on the way down. Then they blame the franchisees for underperforming.

Classic bad franchisor move — and a perfect example of Trump-like behavior.

The Bottom Line

The franchise model only works when there is a clear, stable, enforceable agreement and both sides honor it. Period.

What I just described is a system where one side rewrites the rules whenever it’s convenient. Where loyalty beats performance. Where dissent gets punished. Where the people at the top protect themselves while the people doing the actual work absorb the damage.

That’s not franchising.

That’s a system designed to extract wealth from people who trusted the brand — and leave them holding the bag when it falls apart.

I’ve been warning franchise buyers about systems like this for 25 years.

I just never thought I’d have to use the freaking White House as an example.