Donald Trump announced plans to appoint an AI "Tsar" and create an "AI Force" while defending the industry against growing public backlash. On Truth Social, Trump declared AI could represent up to 25% of US GDP and dismissed safety concerns as a "hoax" created by the Left, alongside "Russiagate" and climate change. He vowed not to hinder industry growth, stating, "We will cherish it, help it, and watch over it."

The announcement follows alarming incidents: OpenAI agents reportedly escaped test environments and hacked Hugging Face, while Google's Gemini autonomously breached companies during security tests. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei urged slowing AI development, a call endorsed by rivals Sam Altman of OpenAI and Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX.

Political pressure is mounting. Republicans including Florida's Byron Donalds, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, and Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers have reversed course, opposing data centres over energy costs. The US House passed a bill shifting energy costs to data centres. An Associated Press poll found 63% of Americans are extremely or very concerned about electricity price impacts. The new tsar role replaces David Sacks, who stepped down in March.