Trump cheerleads for AI as MAGA grassroots mount resistance over regulation and rural impact

Trump Resists Curbs on AI Despite Growing Internal Pressure

President Donald Trump has positioned himself as an enthusiastic advocate for swift artificial intelligence development in America, dismissing regulation as a constraint on US competitiveness with China 1

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. The 79-year-old billionaire's stance puts him at odds with a vocal segment of his own Make America Great Again movement, which is increasingly skeptical of AI's potential to upend society through job displacement and societal disruption 2

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. This tension came to a head on May 21 when Trump dropped the planned signing of a watered-down executive order on powerful AI models that called for voluntary industry controls, with fingers pointing at his allies in Silicon Valley who oppose government oversight of the technology 1

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MAGA Grassroots Against AI Gain Momentum

Amy Kremer, president of a group named Humans First and a long-standing Trump supporter since his first White House win in 2016, argues that US conservatives need to wake up to the danger posed by artificial intelligence 1

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. "There are more regulations on a ham sandwich that I can buy at a street corner in New York City or Washington, DC, than there is on AI," Kremer said, highlighting what she sees as a dangerous regulatory gap 1

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. Dozens of activists, most of them conservatives, reached out recently to Donald Trump in a letter initiated by Humans First and published by Axios, warning that "America did not become the greatest nation in the world by allowing unelected elites to experiment on the public without safeguards or accountability" 1

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Steve Bannon and Conservative Leaders Demand AI Regulation

Among the signatories pushing for AI regulation was Steve Bannon, one of the ideological gurus of the coalition that rose up around Trump, who has called AI "the most dangerous technology in the history of mankind" 1

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. Bannon and other letter signatories urged Trump to issue a decree mandating that new AI models undergo government testing before release to the public 1

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. Kremer maintains her support for the president, saying his leadership has been "absolutely amazing" and that "I know his heart and soul is with the American people," but she directs her anger toward tech companies and their lobbyists, claiming "they have built a moat around the White House" that keeps Trump insulated from people's worries 1

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Data Centers Fuel Rural Backlash and Differing Views on AI

The revolt against rapid AI development spans both of America's main parties, with particular intensity in rural areas where massive data centers are being constructed 1

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. UCLA political science professor Megan Mullin notes that these data centers, which can gorge on water and electricity while creating few new jobs, are "activating that feeling of siege and resentment for folks who live in rural communities" who already feel "ignored or neglected by regular politics" 1

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. This matters because Trump has dominated rural America, triumphing in 90 percent of all rural counties across the last three presidential elections, with his share of the rural vote growing from 59% in 2016 to 65% in 2020 and then 69% in 2024, according to Pew Research data 1

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. Alex Dray, a 23-year-old activist with the bipartisan Young People's Alliance who signed the Axios letter, predicts AI will soon become a key issue for young voters concerned about mental health, jobs and cost of living impacts. "I think there's going to be a reckoning in the next couple months," he told AFP 1

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. While Mullin sees "some simmering roots of an AI backlash" emerging, she notes it's not yet strong enough to clearly predict how this anger will affect voting patterns 1

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