President Donald Trump asserted that the United States is currently leading the artificial intelligence (AI) race against China. He attributed this to the impact of tariffs and the nation’s energy policies.
Trump Touts Tariffs, Energy Edge In AI Race With China
On The Scott Jennings Radio Show, Trump was asked if he considered winning the AI race against China to be a defining policy legacy of his new term. Trump responded affirmatively, likening the competition to the space race or Cold War. He emphasized that tariffs were crucial to winning the race and claimed that the U.S. is “easily beating China.”
Host Scott Jennings also credited Trump’s decision in his first term to block a foreign takeover of Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM), a key player in the AI domain, for helping the U.S. stay ahead in the AI race.
Meanwhile, Trump highlighted the U.S.’s energy advantage, stating that companies are allowed to build their own electricity using oil, gas, and coal, while windmills are discouraged. He stated that more policy decisions and legislative actions on energy are in the pipeline.
The President criticized the use of windmills for energy production, citing their high cost and environmental impact. He referenced the negative effects of windmills in the United Kingdom and Germany as examples.
However, he assured that the U.S. is on the right track and that the approval of AI plans, which previously took up to 15 years, is now being done in a matter of few “weeks.”
$50 Billion Hyperion Facility Highlights Meta's AI Ambitions
Trump also praised the potential of companies to become like public utilities, specifically mentioning a plan by Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg that would superimpose a large-scale project over Louisiana.
Zuckerberg’s $50 billion Hyperion data center cost, a project in Louisiana, previously mentioned by Trump, is part of Meta’s broader push to spend “hundreds of billions” on compute to build artificial superintelligence.
This investment dwarfs the original $10 billion estimate and equals nearly 70% of Meta’s entire capital expenditure budget for the year.
Trump's Nuclear Push Sparks Energy Sector Rally
Furthermore, Trump’s push for increased domestic energy production is evident in his executive order targeting a fourfold increase in domestic nuclear power production over 25 years.
This policy shift has also seen a surge as AI demands drive electricity consumption to record highs. The initiative has garnered bipartisan support, indicating a renewed focus on nuclear energy after decades of stagnation.
VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF (NYSE:NLR) with key holdings in NuScale Power Corp (NYSE:SMR), PG&E Corp (NYSE:PCG) and Nano Nuclear Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:NNE) has surged 45.87% on a year-to-date basis.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
