Trump’s AI framework concedes the backlash is real
With Americans increasingly negative, a new approach is needed to galvanize support for AI progress
Across America, a singularity is forging unity across our polarized electorate, bringing together progressive pagans and cultural conservatives, deindustrialized steelworkers and demoralized professionals, the wealthy left’s collectives and the rebellious right’s influencers all toward one cause. No, it’s not America’s 250th birthday, but rather artificial intelligence.
It’s a red alert for the tech industry. An NBC News poll this month found that “a majority of registered voters, 57%, said they believe the risks of AI outweigh its benefits, compared with 34% who said the opposite.” A survey from left-leaning Blue Rose Research revealed that AI’s political salience among voters has risen faster than dozens of other issues, including the war in the Middle East and cost of living. Fox News in its poll found that just 6% of Americans feel AI is moving too slow, compared to a supermajority who feel the opposite.
From mere unease to vituperative hatred, the growing backlash against AI is ushering in a cornucopia of state legislation. That’s easiest to see with compute, the key ingredient for AI training and inference. More than 11 states, including Democrat-controlled New York and Maryland as well as Republican-dominated Oklahoma and South Dakota, are currently debating legislation to put moratoriums on data center construction. Many cities are at the vanguard of these bans, and federal legislators like Senator Bernie Sanders, who earlier this month began championing data center halts, are leading the charge.
It’s a transpartisan movement — one that is unsettling the Trump administration. The valuations of the so-called Mag 7 stocks that have driven most of the gains of the S&P 500 the past few years are buttressed by hopes of AI-induced productivity gains across the economy. A slowdown in AI growth wouldn’t just put a damper on the American economy during the midterms, but could also surrender America’s lead in this crucial field against China and other competitors for the rest of the 21st century.
Up until now, the administration has been aggressive but hamfisted in its strategy to fight the backlash. Its ultimate goal has been passing legislation that would create a federal preemption for laws related to AI, moving the debate from local and state governments into Washington and ensuring America’s global competitiveness isn’t julienned by 50 states and thousands of municipalities. That legislation was first attached to the Big Beautiful Bill in mid-2025, where it ultimately failed in an extraordinary 99-1 vote. The preemption then moved to the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act in December, where it was dropped. President Donald Trump eventually signed an executive order with parallel language, but without the force of Congress, its future isn’t bright.
After these setbacks, the administration has now opened up to AI’s critics, conceding that the political storm against artificial intelligence isn’t blowing away. Shaking off its recent top-down approach, the White House changed its tune on Friday with a new “National AI Legislative Framework” that is meant to invite more feedback into the AI regulatory process. The launch of the framework is timed with the prominent Hill and Valley Forum in DC, which brings together much of the venture capital class in the nation’s capital alongside Trump officials and allies on Capitol Hill with a hefty focus on American exceptionalism and dominance in industry and frontier technologies.
In its announcement, the White House spoke to the changing politics of AI: “The Administration recognizes that some Americans feel uncertain about how this transformative technology will affect issues they care about, like their children’s wellbeing or their monthly electricity bill.” The framework pulls back from a complete federal preemption to a more devolved model, with the framework highlighting that “this national standard should respect key principles of federalism and not preempt” categories like police, zoning and procurement.
The White House remains focused on its overarching goal of winning the AI race against China and other competitors.
Nonetheless, the White House remains focused on its overarching goal of winning the AI race against China and other competitors. It still wants a preemption over much of AI regulation, arguing “preemption must ensure that State laws do not govern areas better suited to the Federal Government or act contrary to the United States’ national strategy to achieve global AI dominance.” The framework also encourages Congress to push forward on areas like child protection, public safety, copyright, censorship and education. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) has submitted a draft bill to take up the framework.
While the administration’s concessions are meant to reopen a dialogue around federal AI regulation after last year’s failures, the new strategy feels far too little, far too late. With support for AI swiftly falling among Americans of all stripes, Congress’s inhibitions around passing new AI legislation are unlikely to be loosened. Moreover, many of the framework’s pillars are deeply contested. Businesses are bitterly fighting over copyright and the government is still partially shut down over funding public safety. It’s hard to believe that the specter of China winning the AI race will lead to faster legislative action.
Instead, the administration should accept that the federal government has lost control over the situation amid the backlash and champion more robust and localized messaging on the upsides of AI. “The Trump Administration is committed to winning the AI race to usher in a new era of human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security for the American people,” the White House noted in its recent memo. These are good themes, and there is ample evidence that AI has the potential to improve all of our lives immensely.
Silicon Valley can’t singularly accrue the advantages of this revolutionary new tech.
Start with more campaign stops highlighting the immense construction work on new data centers that offer local jobs with high pay. Emphasize the investment into power generation and grid transmission that will create more resilient and affordable places to live across the country. Showcase the dynamism that is coming out of America’s entrepreneurial minds, improving everything from cancer research to home appliances. In short, connect with pro-prosperity voters across the country who are ready to charge into the future open-minded and ready to prosper. After all, this is a significant bedrock of Trump’s voter base.
Alongside any campaign, though, AI leaders must get out of their modern greige offices in San Francisco and energetically persuade voters on the benefits of the world to come. Furthermore, Silicon Valley can’t singularly accrue the advantages of this revolutionary new tech, but must help spread its immense wealth generation into the heartland and the rural communities that already felt left behind and now even more so. Data centers are clearly not enough, with communities demanding real, AI-ready jobs that offer a middle-class salary. Supply them, and turn a story of fear and loathing into a narrative for profit and progress.
The AI backlash is profound, but so is the White House’s acknowledgement of the new reality. American voters are rightfully concerned about the stability of their jobs, the welfare of their children and families, and the strength of their communities. Giving into such fears has never been the American way, but neither is ignoring them. Instead, it’s time to engage forthrightly with the immense change underway in the economy, and offer a better road to the coming singularity.
