President Donald Trump warned Tuesday that states pushing DEI-driven rules for artificial intelligence are creating "Woke AI" that could undermine the nation's economic momentum and position as a global AI leader.
"Investment in AI is helping to make the U.S. Economy the 'HOTTEST' in the World — But overregulation by the States is threatening to undermine this Growth Engine," he wrote on Truth Social.
He accused several states of imposing ideological mandates on AI development:
"Some States are even trying to embed DEI ideology into AI models, producing 'Woke AI' (Remember Black George Washington?)."
He argued that conflicting regulations across the country are choking innovation.
"We MUST have one Federal Standard instead of a patchwork of 50 State Regulatory Regimes," he added.
And Trump insisted that national leadership on AI can protect children and free speech at the same time.
"We can do this in a way that protects children AND prevents censorship!"
The post marks one of Trump's strongest public warnings yet that progressive-led state initiatives — particularly those involving diversity, equity, and inclusion requirements — are distorting the development of advanced AI systems.
It also ties directly into the White House's growing concern that ideological pressure is creeping into model training pipelines.
The message comes as Trump continues to tout AI as a pillar of U.S. economic expansion.
At last summer's AI Summit in Washington, Trump told industry leaders that America is in a global race for technological dominance.
"Whether we like it or not, we're suddenly engaged in a fast-paced competition to build and define this groundbreaking technology that will determine so much about the future of civilization itself," he said at the time.
The White House released its national AI action plan last July, outlining more than 90 initiatives aimed at strengthening U.S. research capacity, expanding infrastructure, reducing model risk, and standardizing metrics for AI governance.
The plan framed AI as a generational economic engine — and warned that regulatory fragmentation could slow progress.
Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, reinforced the message one day later.
Speaking at an event hosted by the Consumer Technology Association, Kratsios said the federal government must focus on unified, evidence-based standards, not politically motivated experiments.
"We need to go back to basics at NIST [National Institute of Standards and Technology] and back to basics around what NIST exists for," he said. "That is to promulgate best-in-class standards and do critical metrology or measurement science around AI models."
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