US President Donald Trump, flanked by US House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Nvidia President and CEO Jensen Huang speaks to the media at the White House driveway following a luncheon for tech leaders in the East Room, in Washington, D.C., US, September 29, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
President Donald Trump’s “unrestrained ignorance” is leaving Americans exposed to three dangers, Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman warned Tuesday.
In a scathing column, Friedman argued Trump’s dismissal of AI risks, his administration’s weakening of public health defenses and its diplomatic failures are threatening Americans’ safety.
“Right now Trump is leaving America exposed to dangerous viruses: digital, biological and diplomatic,” he wrote. “Something bad is going to happen to us as a result. We and our children are going to pay for this, and not only at the gas pump.”
Friedman first targeted Trump’s dismissal of AI safety concerns, warning that a destructive incident could carry consequences for the president and his technology allies.
“Trump and his party — and the A.I. tech bros who have effectively paid them to keep their hands off their industry — had better pray that the ‘October surprise’ in this coming midterm election is not a major, destructive A.I. event,” he wrote.
Friedman also pointed to cuts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and stalled efforts to implement Trump’s Gaza peace plan.
Friedman compared those problems with Trump’s persistent attacks on journalists.
“When it comes to denouncing the press, Trump is laser-focused,” he concluded Tuesday. “But when dealing with the digital, biological and diplomatic viruses weakening our national immune system, not so much — to our great peril.”