President Donald Trump confirmed on Friday he’s thinking about the US government entering into some sort of partnership with major AI companies, perhaps taking a stake, as it did with Intel. Trump is likely to meet with AI company executives next week to discuss the details.
All of this is bad news for Bernie Sanders and David Sacks, who on Friday wrote a very long tweet criticizing his call for legislation that would allow the government to take a 50% ownership stake in AI companies. But Sacks could probably also criticize his old boss, Donald Trump, because Sanders’ plan is so similar to Trump’s.
Trump said the government is interested in buying stakes in giant AI companies like OpenAI or Anthropic: “There’s something very interesting about that, it almost becomes a partnership with the American public. The American people can benefit from its success… pic.twitter.com/Wcy5RbbJ78
-Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 5, 2026
It was NOTUS reports first On Thursday, OpenAI’s Sam Altman spoke with Trump about the government’s purchase of a stake in an artificial intelligence company. That reflects what some on the left think, and Sacks focused on those people, not Trump, when he criticized the idea.
“While I’m not a fan of socialism or the arbitrary confiscation of wealth, I can see why Bernie Sanders’ proposal (the government taking a 50% stake in AI companies) resonates, including with many on the right,” Sacks wrote at the beginning of his tweet. on Thursday.
Sacks, who previously served as Trump’s cryptocurrency and AI czar, went on to suggest that AI companies are putting too much fear into the conversation about what this new technology could do to the world. Sacks said he understands the fear of ordinary people, especially conservatives, but buying stakes in AI companies is not the solution.
“Dario (Amodei) and Sam (Altman) have started to walk back their claims of massive job losses, but the damage to public trust is done and now the chickens are back in the coop. I could support Sanders’ proposal as a stupidity tax,” Sacks wrote.
While I’m not a fan of socialism or arbitrary confiscation of wealth, I can see why Bernie Sanders’ proposal (the government taking a 50% stake in AI companies) resonates, including with many on the right.
The heads of leading artificial intelligence labs have repeatedly told us that they… https://t.co/CqWYYhkDhC
— David Sacks (@DavidSacks) June 5, 2026
Friday, the White House announced Trump would try to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence models by the US government when it comes to national security. But the Trump regime has emphasized that it will not engage in any of the practices that worry many people. Specifically, the White House said it would not engage in “unauthorized or illegal surveillance activities.”
Obviously, this is a warning that makes no sense given the fact of a blank check Renewal of the FISA court Allowing almost any kind of surveillance on Americans, especially under the Trump White House’s interpretation of “legal.” But they are aware of how scared everyone is.
Earlier this year, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth went to war with Anthropic for refusing to drop safeguards that would allow Clod to be used for fully autonomous weapons and internal surveillance. And when those two things are deal breakers for the government, it’s not a great sign. This certainly shows that the US military wants to use AI for fully autonomous weapons and internal surveillance.
Ironically, Hegseth looks like this he loses his war As Reuters vs. Anthropic reported this week said there were “signs of easing” of the dispute between the government and the AI company. And if Trump decides to take a stake in AI (potentially seeing it as a way to roll out stimulus checks ahead of the midterm elections), that would mean Anthropic isn’t just someone the Pentagon can war with anymore. Suddenly, every AI company becomes part of the government.
It remains to be seen whether Trump actually pulls the trigger on taking stakes in AI companies, and if he does, there’s no telling which companies might resist. But Hegseth and Sacks seem to be losing their battle to even bigger forces: Trump’s infidelity and desire to control every industry in America by handing out free money to his supporters.
