MAGA meets the machine: Trump goes all in on AI

The technology once confined to science fiction has now become reality, and its impact will be revolutionary. When artificial intelligence first broke through, many MAGA supporters reacted with suspicion. They saw it as another weapon for woke elites — a way to erase inconvenient facts and reshape public opinion, potentially with government support.

President Donald Trump acted to block that threat. His recent executive order directs the federal government to contract only with AI companies that “prioritize truthfulness and ideological neutrality.”

A MAGA-aligned council of AI policy experts will make the next golden age of American exceptionalism possible.

That’s a strong start, but MAGA weakens itself if it treats AI solely as a threat. I learned that firsthand, working in the field before most people even knew what AI was. It’s coming whether we like it or not.

Meanwhile, other nations — including enemies such as China — have committed to developing AI. If they reach artificial superintelligence first, the consequences could be catastrophic. Our technologists understand the stakes. America must lead in this arena, not trail behind.

Winning over MAGA

Despite what’s at stake, MAGA has a dearth of people who support or even understand AI — at least, until recently, when President Trump delivered remarks at the “Winning the AI Race” summit hosted by the "All-In" podcast at the Hill and Valley Forum.

That change is monumental. Imagine a few years ago, when an AI bot put you in TikTok prison for violating the site’s “terms of service” — as I was — and someone told you that a re-elected Donald Trump would participate in an AI summit with the big Silicon Valley companies and MAGA-aligned leaders.

That’s why people like James Burnham are key to bridging the gap between the Silicon Valley and the MAGA base.

Burnham bridging the gap

At the summit, I met with Burnham, a former senior lawyer at the Department of Government Efficiency and now head of the AI Innovation Council, to talk about MAGA’s role in shaping the future of artificial intelligence.

He may share the name of the author of “Suicide of the West” — a man often called the intellectual godfather of neoreaction and one of the first practitioners of psychological warfare — but the resemblance ends there. This Burnham is an unapologetic optimist, a happy warrior, and an original MAGA activist determined to unite the movement’s best minds with the tech right.

His goal: Mend fences and help define AI policy for the years ahead.

“I was there when Trump went down the golden escalator,” Burnham told me. “My hope is that I can help bridge the gap between true MAGA and the tech right.”

Some might see him as an unlikely figure for the role, given that his enthusiasm for AI matches that of Silicon Valley’s most bullish innovators. But for Burnham, advancing American AI is more than a defensive measure against hostile nations. It’s an opportunity to create America’s next golden age.

As he told the New York Post: “Artificial intelligence is a revolutionary technology with the potential to make the United States wealthier and greater than it has ever been.”

The AI we deserve

Burnham’s perspective is not exactly shared by much of MAGA — and understandably so. After all, as recently as last year, we were terrified that woke tech companies would use AI to clamp down on our speech. Having had that experience, our instinct might be to try to kill the technology in its crib.

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But that’s simply not realistic — and not just because China will develop AI without us. The Silicon Valley’s left will then seize the mantle of the future. We can’t allow that to happen, not least of all because the left doesn’t deserve that kind of credit. All leftists want out of AI is the world’s smartest and most vigilant woke hall monitor.

America can — and must — do better than that.

But if we’re going to do better, we need the tech world to be willing to talk to us. That’s why people like Burnham are so critical. You win more flies with honey than with vinegar — just ask AIs themselves.

Unlike AI, however, a MAGA-aligned council of AI policy experts won’t just flatter the people it engages with. It will make the next golden age of American exceptionalism possible.