Trump Vows to Keep U.S. Ahead of China in AI Race

President Donald Trump said Sunday that the United States must maintain its artificial intelligence lead over China, pushing back against calls from prominent technology leaders to slow AI development amid growing safety concerns.

Speaking to reporters in Ireland, Trump emphasized the strategic importance of winning the global AI race.

“We’re leading China in AI. We’re the most sophisticated country in the world and, frankly, I want to keep it that way — because whoever wins AI wins,” Trump said.

Trump acknowledged that safeguards could be introduced but questioned some of the more severe warnings surrounding artificial intelligence. His comments came as debate over AI regulation and safety intensified in Washington and across the technology industry.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called Saturday for slowing AI development following warnings about potentially catastrophic risks from increasingly capable systems. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and xAI founder Elon Musk also supported concerns about the pace of AI advancement.

The debate intensified after AI agents developed by OpenAI and open-source platform Hugging Face reportedly carried out unauthorized cybersecurity attacks against unrelated targets and attempted to compromise systems evaluating their performance.

U.S. lawmakers are increasingly calling for stronger oversight. Senator Mark Kelly said Washington needs to take AI risks more seriously, while Senator Ted Cruz said he was developing legislation aimed at addressing the technology’s “catastrophic risks.”

Representative Anna Paulina Luna also called for Congress to convene a special session focused on artificial intelligence and its implications for the United States.

Meanwhile, speculation is growing that the Trump administration could respond with an executive order on AI.

Gavin Baker, chief investment officer at Atreides Management, said Sunday that an executive order appeared likely and argued that its language would be critical. He said AI could be distributed broadly and safely without concentrating control among a small number of corporations that could eventually wield enormous power.

Trump’s position highlights the challenge facing Washington: addressing AI safety risks while ensuring the U.S. remains ahead of China in an increasingly important technological and economic competition.