Trump’s AI game plan: ‘No second place’ as he vows to beat China — What he said after meeting with tech giants

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (September 29) laid out his approach to artificial intelligence, arguing that the United States must accelerate AI development, avoid regulations that could slow the industry and maintain its lead over China.

Speaking at the unveiling of the AI-powered America.gov and later after a White House meeting with leading technology executives, Trump repeatedly stressed growth, competition and industry self-regulation.

Trump’s central message: Don’t slow AI

Taken together, Trump's comments pointed to a clear emphasis on rapid AI development, US leadership over China and limited government intervention.

His position also contrasts with growing concerns within parts of the AI industry about safety. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has called for leading companies to slow development, while OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the company was pacing its progress to ensure it could make strong safety assurances.

For Trump, however, the central argument is that slowing US AI development could jeopardise the country's technological and economic lead over China.

Here are the key points from what Trump said about AI:

1. ‘I will never stifle the growth’ of AI

Trump said the US government would not stand in the way of AI development, arguing that the technology could have an economic impact larger than the Industrial Revolution.

“I will never stifle the growth of a technology that will be bigger than the industrial revolution.”

He added: “We can’t stifle it, and we’re leading by a lot.”

Trump's comments came as lawmakers and AI experts have raised concerns about the risks associated with increasingly powerful AI systems.

2. ‘No second place’ in the AI race

Trump framed AI development as a competition in which the US must stay ahead of China.

“You’re going to have a winner and a loser and you’re probably not going to have a second place.”

He said the US was currently leading China and other countries and wanted to maintain that advantage.

“We don’t want to stifle growth.”