Florida GOP gubernatorial front-runner Byron Donalds breaks with Trump on AI

MIAMI — Rep. Byron Donalds, the GOP front-runner for governor of Florida who President Donald Trump endorsed, said Monday that he disagreed with the president over artificial intelligence policy.

His comments come as AI — a technology that’s reshaping how people work, live and learn — appears to be gaining traction as a major political issue. Certain Florida officials, in particular, have emerged as leading state skeptics of the technology’s unbridled expansion as Trump has said he prefers to provide companies with as much free rein as possible to allow the U.S. to compete with China.

Donalds’ comments during a press conference were in response to a question from POLITICO over whether there were any areas in which he and the president might hold different positions. He characterized his split with the president on AI as a “slight disagreement,” saying that while Trump has pushed for a national approach on regulations, he thinks “the states do need to lead.”

“I understand what the president wants to accomplish, I really do. But being on Capitol Hill, man, it’s so difficult getting good policy through that place, especially with the United States Senate. They can’t even pass the Save America Act,” he said, referring to legislation that would institute new voter ID and proof-of-citizenship requirements for federal elections.

Donalds elaborated that his position was based on how Florida has had a “standard when it comes to business regulation that is common sense,” and said he supported policies that might help protect minors and give parents more say in what their children are exposed to. He also said he wanted people to be able to protect their name, image and likeness.

Donalds has held a commanding lead in the governor’s race, in both polls and fundraising, since Trump backed him more than a year ago. In that time, he has articulated little differentiation between his positions and those of the president, with the exception of signing onto a letter to Trump along with other Republicans to oppose oil drilling in the Gulf. Donalds said Monday he was “very grateful for the president’s support” and called Trump a “good friend who’s doing a great job leading this country.”

But his latest comments on AI represent a significant split. They come as White House officials are trying to decide which direction to go in next on AI policies after Trump recently scrapped an executive order that would have allowed federal agencies to sharpen scrutiny of advanced AI systems.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Donalds’ latest remarks.

During a special session in April, Florida House members tanked legislation GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis wanted that would have instituted an “AI Bill of Rights,” citing the need to avoid a patchwork of state laws. Donalds’ opponents in the race, who are all polling in the single digits, have accused him of being overly friendly toward AI companies and data centers, given that Leading the Future, a pro-AI political action committee, has pledged $5 million to back his candidacy — $3 million of which has already been spent on TV ads to advertise the president’s support for Donalds.

Donalds demurred when asked whether the Legislature should have pushed to pass DeSantis’ AI bill, saying instead that if he were to win the election, then “we’re going to look at that policy again next year and find ways that we can bring common sense to the AI space.” The legislation, which the state Senate passed, would require chatbots used by monitors to share information with parents and would notify parents if their children share that they are considering hurting themselves or someone else.

Donalds said he thought Florida could work with other states such as Texas and Tennessee to set guardrails that also allow the industry “to be able to grow and thrive and to excel into the future.” He added that he thought the president was mainly opposed to California trying to make a push on regulations.

“We already know what California does,” Donalds said. “They’re stupid. They don’t even know how to do this stuff right. We don’t want to see New York leading the way. I mean, Kathy Hochul didn’t even know that the Chicago Bulls won the NBA title in 1993. So, you don’t get a say on economic policy on something this large. We want to make sure it’s being done with common sense, and Florida should lead the way.”

المصدر: Politico