As artificial intelligence continues to race ahead, President Trump has made it clear he doesn't intend to apply the brakes any time soon.
Trump has embraced a hands-off approach to AI regulation, resisting calls to reign in the rapidly developing technology and implement federal guardrails. But as the president pushes to accelerate an industry expected to reshape the global economy, another part of the story is unfolding much closer to home: the Trump family is building business interests — and profiting — off of AI.
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Trump's pro-AI stance
The president has downplayed the need for his administration to put any restrictions on AI, even going so far as to call concerns around the technology a conspiracy.
"The only control or 'guardrails' that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A has that, in spades," Trump posted on Truth Social on Sept. 14. "There is a SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers."
The comment came after Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic, published an essay arguing AI companies should deliberately "slow the pace" of development. The guardrails Amodei spoke of were then endorsed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
Trump has argued restricting the development of the technology would harm competition, claiming that the U.S. is currently beating China in the AI race and guardrails could jeopardize that lead. But the Trump family also has a personal stake in the industry through business ventures and stock investments.
Don Jr. and Eric stand to gain from AI
According to the Washington Post, the president's sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric are both investors in several AI and data center ventures.
Donald Trump Jr. is a partner at 1789 Capital, a venture capital firm that closed a $1.2 billion deal focused on real estate ventures, including digital infrastructure like data centers. In a statement shared with The Post, a 1789 spokesperson said Donald Trump Jr. was operating as a private citizen and not in a "government capacity."
He and Eric have both joined the investment firm Dominari Holdings and helped launch American Data Centers, an AI infrastructure venture. The deal came just weeks after their father announced a $20 billion data center pledge from Emirati billionaire Hussain Sajwani, as well as $500 billion in planned private AI investment.
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