Trump calls AI potentially bigger than the internet
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that artificial intelligence could become “bigger than the internet” and urged regulators not to slow the industry down.
He made the remarks at the White House during a meeting with crypto executives and financial regulators ahead of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s first Innovation Advisory Committee meeting.
“We want to regulate, but we want to have regulation where they can continue to lead,” Trump said. “That regulation is not going to stifle a very important industry. I think maybe bigger than the internet, bigger than anything anyone’s seen.”
White House pushes AI infrastructure
Trump said his administration is moving to keep the U.S. ahead of China in AI by speeding up infrastructure projects and resisting rules it считает could slow development.
He said China remains the closest U.S. competitor in AI and added that the technology will likely come up when Chinese President Xi Jinping visits on September 24.
Trump also defended efforts to let AI companies build power plants for their data centers instead of relying on the existing grid.
“Our grid is old and tired and weak, so they’re building some of the greatest electric plants anywhere in the world,” he said. “They’re actually giving the excess electricity into the grid. We’re not using the power from the grid—we’re using brand-new power.”
In March, Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle and xAI signed the White House’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge, agreeing to pay for new electricity generation and infrastructure needed for their data centers.
Local opposition and new restrictions
Trump urged governors and mayors to welcome AI infrastructure projects, saying they bring construction jobs, tax revenue and investment.
“If I were the mayor of a town or the governor of a state, and I had a chance to get a big plant, an AI plant or a data center, I would absolutely want it,” he said. “The jobs are enormous and the money paid, the taxes paid, are just enormous.”
He also said the industry “could use a little public relations help” as opposition grows over electricity costs, water use and other environmental concerns.
At least 37 people have been arrested during data center protests this year, while lawmakers in 15 states have considered moratoriums on data center development.
On Tuesday, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed an executive order imposing new requirements on large data centers aimed at making developers cover costs they impose on the electrical grid. Banks and asset managers are also increasingly weighing community opposition when financing projects, with at least 75 data centers worth roughly $130 billion facing local opposition in the first quarter of 2026.