Partisan politics in the U.S. are often contentious, but recently the divide isn’t just between Democrats and Republicans. Even some ardent supporters of President Donald Trump have expressed strong opposition to his focus on artificial intelligence (AI).
After President Trump released his “AI Action Plan” this summer—a comprehensive strategy aiming to boost AI development while reducing regulations—far-right figures like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Steven Bannon have criticized his tech policies.
“I have many concerns about the AI Executive Order signed yesterday by President Trump,” Taylor Greene posted on social media, shortly after Trump’s “Preventing Woke AI in the Federal Government” executive order. “My deep concerns are that the EO demands rapid AI expansion with little to no guardrails and breaks,” she continued. “This needs a careful and wise approach. The AI EO takes the opposite.”
Bannon, a former Trump strategist, likened the approach to “summoning the demon,” according to Politico. He made news earlier in September for teaming up with Laura Loomer in a harsh critique of Trump’s dinner with tech leaders like Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates.
“There isn’t a single Trump supporter who is going to be happy to see this photo tonight,” Loomer posted online. “Zuckerberg and Gates belong in prison. Not at the dinner table with President Trump.”
Candace Owens, once a major figure in Trump media circles, rescinded her support for Trump this summer, stating she was “embarrassed” for campaigning for him in the 2024 election. Although Owens hasn’t targeted Trump’s AI policy directly, she has criticized AI, referring to Elon Musk’s Grok as an “inherent danger.”
Others in Trump’s sphere are also concerned about his AI stance. Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, who recently praised Trump for deploying federal agents to Memphis, has criticized a provision in his “Big Beautiful Bill” regarding AI regulation.
“This provision could allow Big Tech to continue to exploit kids, creators, and conservatives,” Blackburn stated. “Until Congress passes legislation like the Kids Online Safety Act and an online privacy framework, we can’t block states from making laws that protect their citizens.”
This division emphasizes the contradiction between Trump’s ideological followers and his financial interests: it’s the conservative populists against the tech billionaires whose fortunes are deeply tied to the U.S. economy.
“The base’s concerns about Big Tech are colliding with Silicon Valley’s influence in this administration,” Mark Beall, former Director of Strategy and Policy at the Department of Defense’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, told Politico. Wynton Hall, social media director at Breitbart, agreed. “There is within the conservative movement certainly a concern about child safety, mental health, all those things,” he told Politico. “The transhumanism stuff is also a real concern for conservatives.”
