President Donald Trump dismissed concerns over artificial intelligence this week. Republican donors wish he hadn't.
Some donors, all of whom were granted anonymity to speak candidly without reprisal, told POLITICO that Trump's learn-to-love-it broadsides about AI are the latest example of a president who can at times seem out of touch with voter anxieties, likening it to his glibness around cost of living concerns.
Trump has now called both affordability and fears over AI's disruptive and possibly existentially catastrophic capabilities a "hoax," putting him on the opposite side of many tech leaders and a growing number of state and national Republicans who believe the government needs new regulations. Trump's comments came in the wake of renewed concern this week that tech giants are "gambling with our lives," creating uncontrollable models that could wreak havoc on humanity.
The donor frustration comes amid broader concern that the GOP could lose the House and possibly the Senate in November. Polls look increasingly favorable for Democrats while Trump's approval rating continues to hover around second-term lows.
"He needed to be more empathetic to the issues that were raised, the concerns and anxieties they provoked amongst American people – because you ignore people's concerns at your political peril," a GOP donor said. "If voters feel like you're not responding to their concerns, they often turn to the other party, and so is there a cumulative effect?"
A White House official said Trump has clearly articulated that his goal is to "ensure continued American dominance in AI and other cutting-edge technologies" and that the policy of the Trump administration is to sustain AI dominance over China.
"The hoax that President Trump is referring to is that Democrats are using AI concern as a way to score points weeks before the midterms election, just like the hoax that the world would be extinguished by climate change," the person said.
About two out of three Americans say there is at least a "moderate" risk that advanced AI could destroy humanity, with majorities across parties, genders and age groups holding that view, according to a new POLITICO poll.
A second GOP donor said Trump's focus on maintaining AI dominance over China is "admirable" but there needs to be a better effort to sell the vision to the public.
"The polling will be tough to move," the donor said. "It requires close messaging coordination between both industries and the White House that appears to be lacking. Without it, while AI may not kill us all, it might kill vulnerable Republicans this year."
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman amplified the existential concerns this week, warning that the pace of development needs to slow.
Trump ally and mega GOP donor Elon Musk said Amodei"is right." And Palantir CEO Alex Karp on Thursdaycalled for AI to be nationalized because of the technology's "unlimited risks."
One MAGA Inc. donor said that Trump may have intended to allay fears and downplay the most extreme scenarios but ultimately the president failed to show an understanding of the broader concern.
"In his mind, he was rationalizing a method in which to calm people down. And then what does Karp do today? 'Oh my God, it's so damn bad. We should nationalize it,'" the donor said.
"Depending upon how they took what Trump said, I think a lot of [voters] might have thought, 'Hey, you know, it doesn't sound like he's really given this much consideration,'" the donor added. "I'd rather have somebody in there that would take it more seriously because they need to.'"
But for many donors, their concerns over how the White House is — or isn' t— handling AI pale in comparison to the worsening economic picture that many believe will determine the election.
Mortgage rates are at their highest since January 2025. Diesel fuel, which fuels huge swaths of American industry, is at record highs and that could further increase food prices. And the average price for a gallon of gasoline is $4.47, according to AAA, up 10 percent in the last month.
Only 19 percent of voters approve of Trump's handling of inflation and the cost of living and 20 percent of voters approve of his handling of gas prices, according to a new Marquette University Law School poll.
"Trump's bombastic bullishness on AI safety is not the problem – voters aren't focused on AI beyond data centers – it's the cost of diesel and lack of progress in Iran that leave his approval sub-40 and create a serious drag on Republican candidates in a referendum midterm," said a leading AI lobbyist who has donated to multiple Republican Senate campaigns.
Five GOP-held Senate seats are ranked as toss ups by the nonpartisan handicapper Cook Political Report, including in states that Trump won by double digits in 2024, such as Alaska, Iowa and Texas. In the House, 16 GOP-held seats are ranked as toss ups, compared with five Democrat-held seats.
Those vulnerable Republicans are feeling the pressure from affordability above all other issues, said one former Trump administration official.
"When I talk to members, it's really about affordability. It's about gas prices, diesel prices. They're pissed about the beef thing," the person said. "Maybe you have a local data center issue and you'll probably get ads but I just don't know if the biggest questions—should we be embracing AI full throated or no— is going to really matter in these elections."
Vice President JD Vance and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries focused on cost of living issues, not AI, in meetings with their respective parties on the Hill this week.
Still, despite AI being lower on the list of concerns compared with pocketbook issues, donors want Trump to give voters' anxiety over the fast-paced technology more attention.
"People are worried about cost, farmers are worried about grain prices, cattle prices. People are worried about, in Michigan, the cross-border trade. And you're talking about dismissing people's fears about jobs and their economy," the first GOP donor said. "That is not the recipe for reassembling a winning coalition."