Trump and Mike Johnson think the AI industry is overreacting
The Republicans fear slowing down AI development could give China the edge.
The Republicans fear slowing down AI development could give China the edge.
by
Terrence O'Brien
Sep 13, 2026, 7:41 PM UTC
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge
Terrence O'Brien
is the Verge’s weekend editor. He’s covered the tech industry for over 18 years and knows a thing or two about synths.
Yesterday, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published alengthy open lettersaying it was time to “pace the frontier” and slow down AI development. OpenAI’sSam AltmanandElon Muskboth agreed, publicly voicing their support on X. Even Alphabet’s Demis Hassabis offeredtentative supportfor Amodei’s proposal.
Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, however, seem to think the AI executives are beingoverreactiveand fear that a pause could lead to China outpacing the US in the AI race. According to theFinancial Times, Trump said “Look, we’re leading China in AI ... and, frankly, I want to keep it that way, because whoever wins AI, wins.”
Johnsonechoed those sentimentsonCNN, telling Jake Tapper that rushing to place restrictions on AI development could be a “national security threat.” He urged people not to panic. “If Congress just races in and does some sort of emergency session to try and regulate AI, we will lose the race to China.”
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