Trump says US AI companies cannot slow down if America wants to beat China

President Donald Trump has a message for America’s AI companies: keep going. Trump says US AI developers cannot afford to slow down because the country needs to outperform China. That puts the White House squarely on the side of speed in a debate where some of the industry’s own leaders have been asking for caution. Accelerate first, ask questions later In September 2026, Trump argued that the US must speed up its AI development to keep its edge over China. He described AI supremacy as essential to both national security and economic strength. He made the case on Truth Social and at a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. In doing so, he waved off warnings from prominent AI executives about the risks of racing ahead without regulatory guardrails. Trump went further than dismissing those concerns. He characterized them as a “hoax” that benefits China, recasting AI safety as a geopolitical liability rather than a technical one. Trump also outlined plans for an “AI Force,” modeled on the Space Force, along with the appointment of an “AI Czar.” The gap is shrinking, at least on one measure Bloomberg Intelligence reported that as of early October 2026, the performance gap between le...