Trump cancels AI executive order over fears it would benefit China

US President Donald Trump is reported to have cancelled the signing of an Executive Order on artificial intelligence (AI) just hours before the event was due to begin.

According to The Washington Post, the decision was made after several tech industry figures raised their concerns directly with Trump regarding the proposed AI regulations.

Among those reportedly expressing objections were X (formerly Twitter) owner Elon Musk, Facebook (Meta) founder Mark Zuckerberg, and technology investor and former White House AI and crypto adviser David Sacks.

They feared the executive order would stifle the US AI industry and give China an advantage in the global tech race.

It was not disclosed whether these executives were the reason for Trump’s cancellation of the AI executive order.

However, following reports of the pressure, Trump reportedly reconsidered and immediately cancelled the signing of the AI executive order on Thursday (22 May 2026) local time.

When asked about the cancellation, Trump stated he disliked the drafted regulations.

Trump also emphasised that the US remains the global leader in AI development and he did not want new policies to undermine that position.

“We are ahead of China and all other countries, and I don’t want to do anything that disrupts that advantage,” Trump said.

According to The New York Times, the White House had previously invited executives from OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, Meta, and Microsoft to attend the signing event.

However, some were reportedly unable to attend.

One clause in the draft regulations would have required AI companies to provide 90 days’ notice before launching new technology under a voluntary protocol.