A new battle is emerging inside the conservative movement as President Donald Trump's full-throttle support for the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence is drawing warnings from some of his own longtime allies, The Washington Post reported Sunday.
According to the report, Republican officials from statehouses to Capitol Hill say the administration's aggressive push to supercharge Big Tech's AI ambitions risks undermining American workers and exposing children to serious new harms.
Since returning to office, Trump has appointed several high-profile tech investors and entrepreneurs to key positions and quickly moved to roll back regulations put in place under former President Joe Biden.
The White House has also welcomed massive foreign investment into U.S. AI firms and explored an executive order that would block individual states from passing their own AI regulations — a move that triggered immediate pushback from many conservatives.
The Post reports that GOP figures including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri warn that unrestrained AI growth could clash with the populist economic message that helped fuel Trump's rise.
Their concerns range from the threat of job losses caused by automation to rising utility bills driven by energy-hungry data centers — and growing fears over how AI systems and chatbots may impact children.
The split highlights a deeper tension within the broader MAGA coalition: Trump's partnership with wealthy tech leaders on one side, and the working-class voters who form the backbone of his political strength on the other, according to the report.
While AI investment has boosted the stock market and helped fuel economic growth, many Americans say they are uneasy about the technology's expanding role in daily life.
State Sen. Angela Paxton of Texas, who helped pass legislation targeting AI-generated child exploitation material, told the Post that voters regularly raise concerns about AI's impact on families and jobs.
"People are asking what this means for them and their future," she said.
Trump's critics inside the GOP argue that efforts to preempt state laws would primarily benefit Silicon Valley, not ordinary Americans. DeSantis compared the idea to the heavy-handed pandemic mandates once imposed by Washington and big corporations.
Utah Republican Gov. Spencer Cox warned that failing to regulate AI responsibly could repeat the mistakes that allowed social-media giants to harm children's mental health.
Despite the pushback, Trump has continued to promote AI as central to rebuilding American industry. On his first full day in office, he hosted major tech CEOs — including OpenAI chief Sam Altman — to announce plans for enormous new data-center investments.
His administration has lifted restrictions on semiconductor exports, fast-tracked data-center construction, and backed a $1 billion loan guarantee tied to the restart of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant to power Microsoft's AI facilities.
But according to longtime conservative strategist Brendan Steinhauser, quoted by the Post, the president now faces a clear divide.
"MAGA is his base," he said. "And MAGA is not for this."
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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