Trump 2.0 began by growling at China, but Xi retaliated with a rare earths ban, and Trump caved. Since then, Trump has focused his tariffs on everybody but China and has looked for nothing more than a sustained trade truce. What’s going on here? What’s the plan?
AI is the new silver bullet. It will, as Trump sees it, make America’s businesses more efficient than China’s. In addition, in the short run, the vast wave of AI investment is keeping Trump’s economy afloat in spite of the war and his tariffs. No wonder the man on golf cart stands with the tech barons against his own base.
The Jensen Huang scandal and resignation is thus a major blow to the Trump agenda. It isn’t simply that Trump identifies with a wealthy and powerful philanderer, even though he does; Huang is a driving force behind the AI revolution and its most eloquent cheerleader. AI optimists will have more trouble making their case to the public with his departure from the scene.