President Donald Trump announced a major policy shift on artificial intelligence Monday amid his administration’s efforts to lead AI development on the world stage — much to the chagrin of many prominent members of the MAGA movement.
“There must be only One Rulebook if we are going to continue to lead in AI. We are beating ALL COUNTRIES at this point in the race, but that won’t last long if we are going to have 50 States, many of them bad actors, involved in RULES and the APPROVAL PROCESS,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social on Monday.
“THERE CAN BE NO DOUBT ABOUT THIS! AI WILL BE DESTROYED IN ITS INFANCY! I will be doing a ONE RULE Executive Order this week. You can’t expect a company to get 50 Approvals every time they want to do something. THAT WILL NEVER WORK!”
Trump has leaned heavily into investments in AI during his second term, placing many Silicon Valley tech leaders in prominent positions of his administration, and carving out exceptions to his tariffs for AI companies. However, many of Trump’s most prominent supporters, including Steve Bannon, Trump’s former chief strategist, who warned that the “tech bros” were unreliable and would “be the first to jump ship” the moment Republicans lose control of Congress.
But states are increasingly implementing AI regulations to address concerns about algorithmic bias, data privacy, and consumer protection. Colorado, California, and New York have enacted or proposed comprehensive AI laws. Industry leaders have worried that fragmented state-level approaches will create a patchwork of conflicting requirements.
Trump has already eliminated regulatory barriers for AI companies, having signed an executive order during his first week in office to eliminate significant regulatory red tape in the sector.