On Monday, Trump made it clear that he dismisses public backlash against AI data centers and external concerns regarding frontier models. He wrote, "The only 'guardrails' needed for AI are a strong and smart president, which the United States happens to have." On the same day, House Speaker Mike Johnson expressed support for establishing "guardrails" for the AI industry, while Vice President Vance voiced caution regarding AI companies actively seeking regulation, likening such moves to a "Trojan horse."
Trump publicly criticized Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s call to slow down AI development, dismissing the industry’s growing safety warnings as a “conspiracy” and reiterating that America’s leading position must remain unshaken.
In a social media post on Monday, Trump made clear his rejection of public backlash against AI data centers and external concerns about frontier models. He wrote: “The only ‘guardrails’ needed for AI are a tough and smart (high IQ!) president, and America happens to have one.”
This statement marked a significantly tougher stance compared to his remarks over the weekend, when he acknowledged the need for some degree of regulation.
Two camps have emerged within the White House on the issue of AI regulation: Treasury Secretary Bessent and National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross support stronger protections, while tech advisor Michael Kratsios and former AI czar David Sacks argue that regulation would stifle innovation.
On the same day, Vice President Vance expressed caution regarding AI companies actively seeking regulation; House Speaker Mike Johnson voiced support for establishing "guardrails" for the AI industry, marking a divergence from Trump’s stance on AI regulation. These combined signals suggest that while U.S. AI policy will not tighten dramatically in the short term, uncertainty about its medium-term direction is rising.
Industry leaders call for brakes; Trump confronts them head-on
The spark for the controversy was Amodei’s recent public statement. He urged the industry to slow its pace before developing the most advanced models, allowing companies to more thoroughly assess potential risks.
OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Elon Musk of SpaceX’s xAI subsequently voiced their support, endorsing a moderate slowdown.
This has created direct friction between the AI industry—which Trump has long relied on and viewed as an engine of economic growth—and his core policy agenda.
Trump has consistently prioritized the nationwide acceleration of AI application as a key administrative focus. Over the past few months, his team has repeatedly clashed with Anthropic and Amodei. The U.S. Department of Defense even placed Anthropic under review, citing supply chain risks, after the company requested restrictions on the military use of its tools.
The House Speaker supports AI regulation, while Vance remains wary of AI companies actively seeking regulatory oversight.
Significant rifts have appeared within the Republican Party over the issue of artificial intelligence regulation. House Speaker Mike Johnson has explicitly stated his support for establishing "guardrails" for the AI industry, directly opposing Trump’s strong anti-regulation stance.
Johnson took the lead on Sunday by issuing a statement, saying his goal is to "carefully design guardrails that prevent AI from causing harm while protecting American innovation and national security."
On Monday, he further stated that Congress might need to impose regulatory constraints on the AI industry, describing it as "a very complex issue requiring substantial work and bipartisan solutions." He noted that related legislation may take "some time" to garner sufficiently broad support.
On Monday, U.S. Vice President Vance was asked whether he was concerned about the development of artificial intelligence. He stated:
"Personally, I find it somewhat strange that so many leading AI technology companies are actively engaging with the government, even pleading for regulation. To me, this resembles a ‘Trojan Horse,’ so we must remain cautious."
Meanwhile, the Democratic Party is accelerating efforts to turn the AI regulation issue into political capital. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries stated on Monday that Congress "needs to take decisive action," accusing Republicans of "abandoning their responsibility to protect the American people."
Microsoft releases AI research guidelines; safety initiatives do not recede under pressure
Despite pressure from Trump, security warnings from the industry have not subsided.
Microsoft’s AI research team released a 15,000-word position paper,Defining boundaries for the development of frontier models: Models should not be granted legal rights or personhood, nor should they be designed to evade human control or deceive users. The document further clarifies that systems must refuse to execute any task that would violate AI guiding principles.
This series of internal initiatives from mainstream technology companies indicates that safety discussions are shifting from public statements to concrete institutional frameworks, remaining resilient to changes in the political climate.
Editor/Stephen