Trump Rejects Tech Leaders’ Calls to Slow AI

Artificial intelligence competition has expanded beyond models and chips to data centers, electricity supply and regulation. The Trump administration has made preserving the US lead over China a central policy goal, favoring a light-touch national framework over a patchwork of state rules while seeking faster approvals for the energy and computing infrastructure needed to support AI growth.

In a Punchbowl News interview released on Aug. 7, 2026, President Donald Trump said AI could become many times bigger than the internet and asserted that the US was well ahead of China. He called opposition to data centers in Texas a mistake and defended allowing developers to build data centers and dedicated power plants, arguing that restrictive policies could undermine US competitiveness in a technology he views as strategically decisive.

US President Donald Trump views artificial intelligence as central to the US-China technology rivalry and national security, arguing that the federal government should impose minimal regulation to support the model, chip and data center industries. The approach aims to reduce corporate compliance costs and accelerate innovation, but has also fueled policy debate over how to address security vulnerabilities, export controls and accountability for large models.

Trump most recently said the United States remained far ahead in AI but warned that excessive government involvement could allow China to catch up, pledging to continue pursuing deregulation. The administration had previously imposed export controls on Anthropic briefly because of security vulnerabilities before returning to its broader policy of limited intervention. Reports did not disclose when the controls began or ended, any monetary amounts, or additional quantitative measures.