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Trump says he’s postponing signing an executive order on AI out of concern it would hurt AI industry

May 21, 2026, 9:34 AM | Updated: 1:30 pm

President Donald Trump speaks during an event about loosening a federal refrigerant rule, in the Ov...

President Donald Trump speaks during an event about loosening a federal refrigerant rule, in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Credit: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump called off a Thursday signing ceremony for a new order on artificial intelligence because he worried it could dull America’s edge on AI technology.

Trump said he was postponing the signing because he didn’t like what he saw in the order’s text. He announced the change hours before the event was scheduled to take place in the Oval Office.

“We’re leading China, we’re leading everybody, and I don’t want to do anything that’s going to get in the way of that lead,” Trump told reporters at an unrelated Oval Office event.

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