Trump and Mike Johnson think the AI industry is overreacting

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ai-regulation politics us-china tech-policy ai-safety

Summary

Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson oppose slowing AI development, fearing it could allow China to gain an advantage in the AI race.

<figure> <img alt="A photo of Donald Trump with an illustrated background." data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/STK466_ELECTION_2024_CVirginia_E.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;crop=0,0,100,100" /> <figcaption> </figcaption> </figure> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Yesterday, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published a <a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/994337/anthropic-ceo-slow-down-ai-development">lengthy open letter</a> saying it was time to "pace the frontier" and slow down AI development. OpenAI's <a href="https://x.com/sama/status/2098811563415150910">Sam Altman</a> and <a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2098789109980332057">Elon Musk</a> both agreed, publicly voicing their support on X. Even Alphabet's Demis Hassabis offered <a href="https://x.com/demishassabis/status/2098909516582490602">tentative support</a> for Amodei's proposal. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, however, seem to think the AI executives are being <a href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/trump-defends-white-houses-light-touch-on-ai-regulation-c4ed2488">overreactive</a> and fear that a pause could lead to China outpacing the US in the AI race. According to the <em><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/cae60732-f929-4735-a627-db8c14e7c7ed">Financial Times</a></em>, Trump said "Look, we're leading China in AI … and, frankly, I want to keep it that way, because whoever wins AI, wins."</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Jo …</p> <p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/994441/trump-mike-johnson-ai-industry-overreacting">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>
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# Trump and Mike Johnson think the AI industry is overreacting Source: [https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/994441/trump-mike-johnson-ai-industry-overreacting](https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/994441/trump-mike-johnson-ai-industry-overreacting) [Skip to main content](https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/994441/trump-mike-johnson-ai-industry-overreacting#content) The Republicans fear slowing down AI development could give China the edge\. The Republicans fear slowing down AI development could give China the edge\. by Sep 13, 2026, 7:41 PM UTC ![STK466_ELECTION_2024_CVirginia_E](https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/STK466_ELECTION_2024_CVirginia_E.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0.95588235294118%2C0%2C98.088235294118%2C100&w=2400) ![STK466_ELECTION_2024_CVirginia_E](https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/STK466_ELECTION_2024_CVirginia_E.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0.95588235294118%2C0%2C98.088235294118%2C100&w=2400) Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge [![Terrence O'Brien](https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/02/TERRENCE_BLURPLE.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&w=96)](https://www.theverge.com/authors/terrence-obrien) Terrence O'Brien is the Verge’s weekend editor\. He’s covered the tech industry for over 18 years and knows a thing or two about synths\. Yesterday, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published a[lengthy open letter](https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/994337/anthropic-ceo-slow-down-ai-development)saying it was time to “pace the frontier” and slow down AI development\. OpenAI’s[Sam Altman](https://x.com/sama/status/2098811563415150910)and[Elon Musk](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2098789109980332057)both agreed, publicly voicing their support on X\. Even Alphabet’s Demis Hassabis offered[tentative support](https://x.com/demishassabis/status/2098909516582490602)for Amodei’s proposal\. Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, however, seem to think the AI executives are being[overreactive](https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/trump-defends-white-houses-light-touch-on-ai-regulation-c4ed2488)and fear that a pause could lead to China outpacing the US in the AI race\. According to the*[Financial Times](https://www.ft.com/content/cae60732-f929-4735-a627-db8c14e7c7ed)*, Trump said “Look, we’re leading China in AI \.\.\. and, frankly, I want to keep it that way, because whoever wins AI, wins\.” Johnson[echoed those sentiments](https://www.instagram.com/reels/DdO_QnLgiHs/)on*CNN*, telling Jake Tapper that rushing to place restrictions on AI development could be a “national security threat\.” He urged people not to panic\. “If Congress just races in and does some sort of emergency session to try and regulate AI, we will lose the race to China\.” **Follow topics and authors**from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates\. - Terrence O'Brien ## The Verge Daily A free daily digest of the news that matters most\.

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