While Barack Obama urges Democrats to make AI a campaign issue, Trump downplays the need to slow development despite dire warnings

Donald Trump spent Sunday playing down calls to slow AI development, even as some of the loudest names in tech are urging the industry to ease off. On a weekend trip to Ireland, he said the U.S. can add some guardrails, but he offered no details and brushed off warnings about AI moving too fast as the work of unnamed “negative forces.”

His argument was blunt: America is already ahead of China, and it should stay that way. “Whoever wins with AI wins,” he said, after watching a golfer tee off at the Irish Open at his resort in Doonbeg. He also said he wants to keep the U.S. in front because, in his telling, winning the race would help deal with the risks that come with the technology.

That puts him on the other side of Dario Amodei, the Anthropic chief executive, who said the industry should slow down so safety work can catch up. Elon Musk and Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, publicly agreed with Amodei. Trump’s comments also landed just before Xi Jinping is expected to visit the U.S. later in September, with AI likely on the agenda.

The political fight is already widening. Barack Obama has urged Democrats to make AI a campaign issue, warning about safety, kids being “corrupted,” and job displacement. In Washington, House Speaker Mike Johnson wants “some guardrails,” but also says the U.S. cannot lose its edge to China. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries wants faster action. Neither side, though, offered concrete steps.

The pressure is not just coming from elected officials. Jacob Coxon, a former Anthropic employee, called for international rules and cooperation between Washington and Beijing, saying the field could produce systems beyond human control. David Sacks, a White House adviser, pushed back by saying the people building these systems are the ones who can choose to slow down.