Trump Postpones AI Executive Order Over China Concerns

The US president, Donald Trump, has postponed signing an executive order on AI because he didn't like certain aspects of it and didn't want to take any steps that might undermine the US position in its AI competition with China. The order would create a voluntary framework for AI developers to engage with the U.S. government before the public release of advanced AI models, two sources familiar with the order told Reuters.

Trump became the first US president in nearly a decade to visit China, and he described his meeting with his counterpart Xi Jinping as “very successful”. The administration's plans were put on hold after a push from xAI founder Elon Musk and other big tech figures. Musk replied to a post on X about the reporting, saying, “this is false,” and adding: “I still don’t know what was in that EO and the president only spoke to me after declining to sign.”

“I think it gets in the way of, you know, we’re leading China, we’re leading everybody, and I don’t want to do anything that’s going to get in the way of that lead,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

Trump didn't specify which parts of the executive order he objected to.

The decision to postpone the executive order comes as the US is involved in several controversies. These include the indictment of former Cuban leader Raul Castro, and the deployment of additional troops to Poland. House Republicans canceled a scheduled Thursday vote on a war powers resolution aimed at ending the US war with Iran, a measure that likely would have advanced if the vote had been held. The US president, Donald Trump, and the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, on Thursday again raised the spectre of military intervention in Cuba. This was a day after the administration announced criminal charges against Raúl Castro, the island’s former leader.

The US arms sales to Taiwan have been “paused” to ensure the US military has enough munitions for its Iran operations, according to Washington’s acting navy secretary. Donald Trump has announced he will deploy an “additional” 5,000 US troops to Poland, just days after the Pentagon controversially halted a long-planned deployment of forces to the country. It's the largest deployment on Nato’s eastern flank. Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte struck a cautious note, saying the bloc’s trajectory was one that was prioritising a stronger Europe, “less reliant on the US”.

In other news, the Democratic National Committee’s party chair, Ken Martin, is facing mounting questions and a lack of confidence in his leadership. He released the DNC autopsy report, a 192-page analysis on the party’s 2024 election loss. David Hogg, the former DNC vice-chair, called on Martin to resign on Thursday. In a statement, Hogg wrote: “This autopsy and the months-long debate about even releasing the report, is a demoralizing joke … Ken Martin should resign, and the DNC should select a new leader who demonstrates competence, creativity, moral clarity, and a relentless commitment to actually changing the broken Democratic Party brand.” Some on Capitol Hill, including Seth Moulton, a representative from Massachusetts, have also called for Martin’s resignation. Moulton told Axios, “He should resign,” and added that it’s “Utterly nuts it took us this long to release the autopsy.”

And the CBS Late Show bid farewell to the small screen on Thursday night after a controversial cancellation. The CBS Late Show leaves the air as the No 1 show in network TV late night. The 11.35pm real estate is immediately and ignominiously rented out to Byron Allen’s longtime syndication seat-filler Comics Unleashed. It's a stunning streaming-era abdication that will forever be tied to Trump, even as the network has insisted that the decision was purely financial, not political. Trump commented on Colbert’s departure early Friday morning on Truth Social: “Colbert is finally finished at CBS. Amazing that he lasted so long! No talent, no ratings, no life. He was like a dead person. You could take any person off the street and they would be better than this total jerk. Thank goodness he’s finally gone!”

The executive order on AI has been postponed by Trump. The order would create a framework for AI developers to work with the government. Trump became the first US president in nearly a decade to visit China. The administration’s plans were put on hold after a push from xAI founder Elon Musk and other big tech figures. The US is involved in several controversies, including the indictment of former Cuban leader Raul Castro, and the deployment of additional troops to Poland. The US president, Donald Trump, and the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, on Thursday again raised the spectre of military intervention in Cuba. The US arms sales to Taiwan have been “paused” to ensure the US military has enough munitions for its Iran operations. Donald Trump has announced he will deploy an “additional” 5,000 US troops to Poland. Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte struck a cautious note, saying the bloc’s trajectory was one that was prioritising a stronger Europe, “less reliant on the US”.