Donald Trump pushes for government equity in AI firms amid policy debate

President Donald Trump has renewed pressure on the Federal Reserve, telling NBC’s Meet the Press, “There’s no reason to raise interest rates,” and urging Fed Chair Kevin Warsh to lower rates following a strong jobs report. At the same time, Trump is championing a proposal for the federal government to acquire equity stakes in leading artificial‑intelligence companies, suggesting dividends could be paid to American households.

Former AI czar David Sacks warned that a 50 % government ownership model, as proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, would create a “stupidity tax” and risk a “totalistic” system that could “curate reality – with the ability to rewrite history, enforce ideological conformity, influence policy at scale, mass surveil Americans, and condition the benefits of the many systems it controls.” The discussion involves AI leaders such as OpenAI’s Sam Altman, who have met with senior officials about voluntarily handing over shares to the government.