On September 14, 2026, while NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang was being interviewed onstage at the All-In Summit forum in Los Angeles, his phone suddenly rang, and the caller was none other than U.S. President Trump. Huang immediately put it on speakerphone, letting thousands of attendees hear Trump’s position on AI development. The All-In Summit is an annual forum hosted by the well-known tech podcast All-In Podcast. It was held in Los Angeles this year, and attendees included top Silicon Valley venture capital partners, tech industry executives, and policymakers. Huang was invited onstage for an interview to discuss precisely the hottest topic in tech recently: whether AI development should slow down.
Trump said on a phone call: “Robots will not take over the world, and AI will not take over the world. This is all a scam. Data centers are great; they make people rich and make states rich. It is the oil of the next 20 to 25 years, bigger than the internet.” This statement directly responded to recent concerns in the tech world about AI risks. Trump characterized these safety concerns as a “scam,” taking a very hardline stance.
Background: Dario Amodei calls for slowing the pace of AI development.
The background to this call is that Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published a long essay last weekend arguing for “deliberately slowing the pace of advancing AI model capabilities,” saying that the current speed of AI development has exceeded the scope of safety evaluations. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman subsequently publicly expressed support for Amodei’s position, creating a rare situation in which three tech giants jointly called for slowing down.
But Jensen Huang’s stance is clearly different. When he discussed this topic onstage with the All-In Podcast hosts—including venture capitalists Chamath Palihapitiya and Jason Calacanis, as well as White House advisers David Friedberg and David Sacks—he clearly expressed his opposition to slowing down. Huang had also previously publicly stated that AI doomsday arguments lack scientific support.
Trump: People who oppose data centers are doing the enemy a favor.
Trump continued on the phone: “Those people have fallen right into the trap set by the many who don’t want to see America’s AI development succeed. Those people may be politicians, or they may be China. We won’t let a slowdown happen.”
Jensen Huang immediately responded, “You’re right, Mr. President. We won’t let a slowdown happen.” The entire room immediately burst into applause.
Trump couldn’t resist a bit of humor: “Jensen Huang can design the most complex computer chips in the world, and no one can copy them, but he just can’t figure out how to put you on speaker.” In fact, Huang was at that moment asking staff for an extra microphone so the phone audio could reach the whole room.
Public backlash: 70% of Americans oppose building data centers near their homes.
Before the call ended, Trump said, “We have to be a little careful and act prudently, but that doesn’t mean we should kill an industry. I fully support you. I don’t even know what you’re thinking; I just hope you’re on the same page as me. We have to lead.”
However, public opposition to data centers is not unfounded. A Gallup poll shows that seven in ten Americans oppose building data centers near their homes, more than half of respondents worry about the impact of data centers on environmental resources, and about 20% worry about rising living costs and a declining quality of life. This opposition is concentrated mainly in areas such as Northern Virginia, where data centers are densely clustered, and local residents have long reported problems such as noise, water usage, and rising electricity bills.
Trump ally and Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan argued that public opinion opposing data centers is an “international psychological operation” aimed at stifling US economic growth. Trump himself also posted on Truth Social, calling people worried about AI and data centers “revolutionaries pursuing evil goals,” and said he does not believe additional AI regulations are needed.
FromOn-site videoAs you can see, when Jensen Huang received the call, he at first exclaimed, “Oh, it’s Trump,” then calmly explained to Trump that he was onstage talking with the “besties” (the nickname for the All-In Podcast hosts), with thousands of audience members below. Trump immediately responded, “That’s perfect—let’s let everyone hear.” The whole conversation lasted about five minutes, and the atmosphere was lively, with applause and cheers ringing out several times. We also translated this video and added subtitles; those interested can take a look:
The relationship between Jensen Huang and Trump continues to warm.
During his second term, Trump has publicly appeared with Jensen Huang multiple times. This call further underscored the close relationship between the two and AI’s central place in the U.S. economy. All-In Summit host Chamath Palihapitiya later posted on X describing the scene as “surreal.” Trump concluded: “Whoever wins AI wins everything. This is bigger than the internet.” He also stressed that $20 trillion in investment is set to enter the U.S., while criticizing the previous administration for underinvesting in AI.
Notably, Trump’s stance on AI policy is no longer limited to rhetoric. He has posted multiple times on Truth Social calling people concerned about AI and data centers “revolutionaries pursuing evil goals,” and has made clear he does not believe the United States needs additional AI regulations. This stands in sharp contrast to the AI regulatory framework the European Union is currently advancing, further widening divisions in global AI governance.
Conclusion
This live phone call on the tech forum stage clearly exposed the rivalry between two paths for U.S. AI policy: on one side, the “cautious slowdown” urged by Anthropic and OpenAI; on the other, the “full speed ahead” backed by the White House and NVIDIA. The public alliance between Trump and Jensen Huang in front of thousands amounted to an endorsement of the AI industry’s direction, and also meant that in the short term the U.S. would not introduce AI regulatory legislation similar to the EU’s.
For the semiconductor and AI industries, this conversation sent a clear political signal: during Trump’s time in office, AI infrastructure buildout will enjoy strong policy support, while voices worried about AI risks are classified at the White House level as a position that “hinders U.S. competitiveness.” The final outcome of this debate will directly shape the pace of the global AI industry’s development over the next several years.
Source: KOCPC Chinese