President Donald Trump thinks America is about to fumble its lead in artificial intelligence, and he's pointing the finger at something you might not expect: state governments trying to regulate AI on their own.

The Case for One Rule to Rule Them All

On Tuesday, Trump took to Truth Social with a warning that the U.S. risks losing its competitive edge because states are writing their own AI rulebooks. According to Trump, AI investment has helped make the American economy the "hottest in the world," but "overregulation by the states" threatens to kill that momentum.

His concern isn't just about bureaucratic messiness. Trump specifically called out state efforts to build diversity and inclusion requirements into AI systems, warning it could produce what he labeled "woke AI." He wants Congress to step in and create one national framework instead.

The stakes, in his view, are existential for America's tech dominance. "If we don't," Trump said, "China will easily catch us in the AI race."

It's Not Just About Chips and Code

Trump's concern echoes warnings from some heavy hitters in the tech and investment world, though their focus has been less on regulation and more on infrastructure.

Investor Kevin O'Leary recently argued that China is "crushing" the U.S. in electricity capacity. His point: America's power grid is already maxed out, while China can throw up new coal plants without the delays that bog down U.S. projects.

Nvidia Corp (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang has sounded similar alarms, noting that China benefits from cheaper power and faster regulatory approvals when it comes to building out AI infrastructure. Those advantages aren't trivial when training massive AI models requires enormous amounts of electricity.

The implication is that while Washington debates whether AI should be regulated at the state or federal level, Beijing is focused on making sure it has the juice to actually run the thing.

For what it's worth, Nvidia continues to post strong momentum, growth and quality scores according to market data, with steady gains across multiple timeframes. The company remains a key player regardless of which country ends up winning the regulatory efficiency contest.