U.S. President Donald Trump has rolled out a series of tech-corporation-friendly policies that run counter to the MAGA base, the Republican Party's core supporters, and his support base appears to be wavering.
According to the Washington Post (WP) on the 14th, Trump signed an executive order on the 11th that nullifies State Governments' laws restricting the AI industry. Under this measure, the U.S. attorney general can sue to challenge state laws that do not align with America's AI competitiveness, and if a state maintains its regulations, federal funding for infrastructure projects can be cut off.
At the time, Trump noted that large-scale AI investment is flowing into the United States and said, "If you have to get different approvals 50 times from 50 states, that's impossible. You can't succeed unless the source of approval or rejection is unified."
The news threw Republican supporters into confusion. Workers in the MAGA base worry that AI could automate jobs, and critics say an executive order that promotes the AI industry could dilute the party's message to workers. Some in the MAGA camp are increasingly concerned that the administration could challenge state laws aimed at protecting children online, or even laws to regulate data centers amid concerns about rising energy bills.
Governors, members of Congress, and conservative advocacy groups reportedly called the White House to express concerns about the executive order. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, and conservative commentator Stephen K. Bannon publicly criticized the order through posts on the social platform X and on podcasts.
Trump also released a measure on the 8th allowing mass exports of Nvidia's high-performance artificial intelligence (AI) chip "H200," drawing backlash from the MAGA camp. The H200 is one generation earlier than Nvidia's latest AI chip "Blackwell," but it is known to be about six times more powerful than the H20 currently exported to China. In the United States, there has been persistent concern that exporting chips to China could weaken America's dominance in the AI industry, but Trump effectively sided with Nvidia.
John Moolenaar, Chairperson of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (Republican), raised the issue by sending a letter in opposition to the administration. In a recent letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Moolenaar said, "Approving the sale of cutting-edge chips to Chinese corporations risks eroding the critical strategic advantages Trump secured during his first term."
Analysts say the powerful influence of Silicon Valley titans is behind Trump's rapid-fire AI policies. They are funding Trump's political activities, including by donating large sums to the White House ballroom project. An anonymous source told the WP, "It feels like millions of votes across the country were traded for the votes of thousands of venture capitalists and tech magnates in areas Republicans could never win."
The WP said, "The dispute over Trump's AI policy reflects latent tensions between the populists who helped deliver him to the White House for a second time and tech entrepreneurs," adding, "The executive order Trump signed on the 11th was the second major victory in a week for a coalition of tech corporations with formidable influence and wealth."
The White House moved to contain signs of a split in the MAGA camp. White House Spokesperson Kushi Desai emphasized that Trump is "focused on ensuring the United States provides the cutting edge of future technologies without undermining national security." The spokesperson added that the only interest influencing Trump's final decisions is the best interest of the American people.
White House AI and cryptocurrency lead David Sacks and senior AI policy adviser Sriram Krishnan also actively explained to lobbyists, governors, and their aides that the proposal is not an attack on states' rights, according to reports. With the midterm elections less than a year away, and a MAGA split potentially hurting the vote, the White House appears to be moving quickly to steady the situation.