AI Power, Pentagon Money, and Trump’s Missing Guardrails

AI policy is becoming a family business. Donald Trump and his allies are collecting money, contracts, and influence as the administration resists new restrictions on artificial intelligence. The result is a widening gap between the industry’s financial momentum and the public’s appetite for more AI in daily life.

Trump’s sons picked up a $620 million Pentagon loan, a Marine Corps robotics contract, and an undisclosed air force drone deal during the past year. Michael Dell also won a Pentagon contract worth nearly $9 billion, adding another enormous private-sector deal to an administration whose AI policy favors expansion.

Trump has made his position plain on Truth Social. “The only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades,” he posted on September 20, 2026.

He also wrote, “There is a SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers.” In another post, Trump said, “We will not in any way hinder or stifle the Growth of this incredible Industry. Rather, we will cherish it, help it, and watch over it, as it grows! However, we will also be looking for BAD, and we can do that, very easily, with our already existing Criminal and Civil Justice System.”

The public is not cheering from the sidelines

The polling does not match Trump’s confidence. Just 11% of Americans support building an AI datacenter in their community, while 65% oppose one. Even among Republicans, 52% oppose an AI datacenter in their community — a useful reminder that enthusiasm in executive offices does not automatically travel to the neighborhood.

Trump’s handling of AI has also lost ground. Fifty-seven percent of Americans say he has handled the issue poorly, up seven points since March. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s post.

The resistance to new restrictions comes as researchers describe risks that are difficult to dismiss with a presidential IQ rating. AI researcher Jacob Coxon said that “people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade.” Mrinank Sharma, Anthropic’s head of AI safety, said “the world is in peril.”

David Sacks, Trump’s former AI czar and co-chair of his Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, previously argued that AI developers should be responsible for ensuring safety and could face liability if problems arise. Sacks stepped down in the spring, leaving Trump to announce plans on September 20, 2026, to appoint a new AI adviser and create an “AI force” without providing details.

AI leadership is now a geopolitical contest

The policy fight also sits inside a larger contest between Washington and Beijing. The United States and China are competing for leadership in artificial intelligence, with Tencent representing one of China’s major technology companies and Chinese President Xi Jinping scheduled to meet Trump on Thursday.

That diplomatic backdrop gives the administration a reason to frame AI growth as a national competition. It does not answer the domestic questions: who pays when systems fail, who controls the infrastructure, and whether communities have any meaningful say when datacenters arrive.

Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, and He Lifeng, the Chinese Vice Premier, were scheduled to meet on September 20, 2026. JD Vance is also among the political figures connected to the broader Washington debate around technology and power, but the administration’s announced AI force still lacks a defined mission.

Trump’s approach is clear even when its machinery is not: protect growth, rely on existing criminal and civil justice systems, and oppose new barriers. That formula may satisfy investors and contractors, but the polling shows a public that sees datacenters, safety risks, and government promises as separate problems — not one glorious industry waiting to be cherished.

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