Donald Trump erupted publicly on Thursday after the Wall Street Journal published a series of articles and editorials questioning the United States’ position in the global race for artificial intelligence, particularly against China. The criticism appeared to strike a nerve with the 79-year-old president, who took to Truth Social to defend his record and attack the Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper.
Trump’s outburst followed a sharply worded Journal editorial that mocked his recent deal allowing Nvidia to sell powerful AI chips to China in exchange for a share of the revenue. The paper also ran a report that highlighted China’s growing dominance in electricity production, a critical factor for powering energy-hungry AI systems.
“The Wall Street Journal has another ridiculous story today that China is dominating us, and the World, on the production of Electricity, having to do with AI,” Trump wrote. “They’re WRONG, as usual!”
Trump went on to argue that the United States is far ahead in artificial intelligence, crediting himself directly for that position. “AI has far more Electricity than they will ever need because they are building the facilities that produce it, themselves,” he claimed. “We are leading the World in AI, BY FAR, because of a gentleman named DONALD J. TRUMP!”
The Journal’s reporting painted a far less confident picture. It noted that China now operates the world’s largest power grid, a major advantage as AI development demands massive and consistent electricity supplies. OpenAI has previously warned of an “electron gap” that could leave the U.S. struggling to keep pace with China, while Morgan Stanley has projected that American data centers may face an energy shortfall within the next three years.
Industry groups have echoed similar concerns. Last month, the Solar Energy Industries Association warned the Department of Energy that the country’s AI ambitions were being undermined by “onerous and unstable permitting policies and insufficient transmission capacity.”
Trump attempted to dismiss those warnings in his Truth Social posts, insisting that AI facilities in the U.S. are prepared to handle their own power needs. “Every AI plant being built in the United States is building its own Electric Generating Facilities,” he said. “The approvals are being given carefully, but very quickly, in a matter of weeks.”
He added that surplus power would benefit the broader grid, claiming it is “being strengthened, and expanded, for other purposes than AI, like never before.”
Separately, the Journal’s editorial board took aim at Trump’s decision to allow Nvidia to sell its H200 AI chips to China in return for 25 percent of the sales. “The Indians struck a better deal when they sold Manhattan to the Dutch,” the board wrote, questioning why such advanced technology would be shared with a geopolitical rival.
The editorial also pointed out that Trump’s own Justice Department has acknowledged the military potential of Nvidia chips when it shut down a China-linked smuggling network. “We sure hope Mr. Trump isn’t doing this for Nvidia’s 25 percent tax payments to Treasury,” the board warned. “What is Mr. Trump getting from Beijing now besides better mood music before his planned visit to China in the spring?”