As White House shields the AI gold rush, Trump family and other allies strike...
3 hours ago
- Trump's sons secured $620m Pentagon loan, Marine Corps robotics contract, and undisclosed Air Force drone deal through AI-linked ventures in the past year.
- Longtime Trump friend Michael Dell won nearly $9bn Pentagon contract.
- Trump aggressively promotes AI on Truth Social, opposing guardrails and claiming only a 'strong president' is needed, amid sinking public support.
- Conflict of interest concerns arise as Trump's family and allies accumulate financial stakes in AI infrastructure and defense tech, while Trump resists new regulations.
- Administration cites competitiveness with China as reason for resisting rules; David Sacks dismisses AI risks as 'political theater'.
- Industry insiders resign with warnings: AI may 'kill us all by the end of the decade', and an AI-built worm could compromise billions of devices.
- Polling shows 11% support local AI datacenters, 57% disapprove of Trump's AI handling; House votes 417-3 to make datacenters pay for grid upgrades.
- Trump brothers' investments include Dominari Holdings, American Data Centers, Vulcan Elements (Pentagon loan), Foundation Future Industries (Marine Corps deal), and Powerus (Air Force contract).
- Sacks lobbied Trump to scrap AI executive order; his firm holds stakes in SpaceX and AI startups. Musk, Zuckerberg, Huang also lobbied against AI oversight body.
- Ethics watchdogs question Pentagon contracts to Trump-connected firms; Democratic lawmakers seek investigation.
- Tech industry donations still favor Democrats, but some AI leaders like Altman and Brockman donated to Trump's campaign.
- Trump to host leading AI companies and Chinese president Xi Jinping at White House next week.