Trump's Tech Renaissance: Restoring America's Edge in AI and Crypto

The Biden administration displayed an unmistakable hostility toward America’s technology sector, treating it not as a strategic asset vital to national security, but as a liability to that needed to be restrained. Through relentless regulation, speech censorship, and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) aggressive anti-crypto stance, the administration systematically undermined technological innovation. Among the most egregious examples was the executive order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence. Despite its ostensibly noble aims, this directive signaled an overarching intent to smother the industry through bureaucratic oversight and ideological interference.

Marc Andreessen, in a revealing interview with Joe Rogan, disclosed the alarming extent of the government’s coercive tactics against tech leaders—including, at one point, threats to outlaw entire branches of mathematics. Such measures, once confined to the realm of dystopian fiction, now shape an emerging neo-Luddite model of technological governance designed to suppress progress. The chilling effect was unmistakable: these policies would deter investment, stifle innovation, and create a hostile environment in which America’s brightest minds find themselves increasingly constrained within their own country. Many of these initiatives explicitly aimed to impose an Orwellian global regime of centralized control over computational power, artificially restricting fields such as AI, semiconductor engineering, and quantum computing. The potential economic and strategic catastrophe of such an approach is self-evident—an America deliberately crippled in the race for technological dominance risks ceding its global leadership in critical emerging industries.

Trump Undoing the Damage and Turning the Tide

In stark contrast, President Trump has long recognized the technology sector as a pillar of American strength. His administration acted decisively to prevent overregulation from strangling innovation. His executive order, Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence, stood in direct repudiation of Biden-era policies that sought to impose ideological and bureaucratic constraints on technological development. This directive underscored the necessity of eliminating regulatory impediments while ensuring AI remains free from the distorting effects of political bias and social engineering. By prioritizing a pro-innovation framework, Trump’s administration aimed to secure America’s leadership in AI research, development, and commercialization, ensuring that U.S. firms remained competitive in an increasingly globalized technological landscape.

Another pivotal move was the executive order titled Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology, which sought to curb regulatory overreach and protect the fundamental right of American citizens to own and utilize digital assets free from undue interference. This order established a regulatory framework balancing security with economic liberty, fostering an environment in which blockchain enterprises could thrive while safeguarding consumer interests. The Trump administration understood that blockchain technology and digital currencies represent not just financial innovation but a fundamental shift in the distribution and control of economic power. By fostering a favorable environment for cryptocurrency and blockchain advancements, Trump’s policies signaled a commitment to maintaining America’s edge in the rapidly evolving digital economy.

President Trump was also acutely aware of the threats posed by foreign adversaries in the technological sphere, particularly China. His executive order, Application of Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act to TikTok, reflected a strategic approach to mitigating risks posed by Chinese-controlled tech platforms. Unlike the Biden administration’s blunt-force advocacy for an outright ban—an overreach that risks violating core American principles—Trump pursued a calibrated strategy aimed at neutralizing China’s psychological operations while preserving economic and technological value. Instead of crude prohibition, his administration favored structured divestitures and strategic oversight mechanisms to ensure that American data remained secure without stifling innovation. Rather than undermining American technological progress, his approach strengthened it by reducing dependency on foreign-controlled digital platforms.

Deepseek: A Major Breakthrough or Overhyped Copycat?

The recent launch of Deepseek, a Chinese-developed AI model, has sent shockwaves through Silicon Valley. Reports claim its development required a mere $6 million—an implausibly low sum given the astronomical investments made by leading American firms in large language models. Elon Musk has openly questioned the credibility of this figure, suggesting that Deepseek may be nothing more than a psychological operation aimed at sowing uncertainty in the American AI sector. Palmer Luckey, another legendary figure, remains skeptical for similar reasons, arguing that China’s disclosures lack transparency and credibility.

David Sacks, chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and a seasoned venture capitalist, has also raised concerns about Deepseek’s rapid advancement. According to Sacks, the model likely leveraged proprietary knowledge derived from OpenAI—tantamount to technological theft. However, he warns that complacency is not an option. Rather than merely condemning Chinese advancements, America must double down on its own technological innovation to maintain its competitive edge.

The recently announced Stargate Project is a testament to the Trump administration’s unwavering commitment to securing American technological dominance. If Deepseek was intended as a disruptive force aimed at demoralizing the U.S. tech sector, Stargate is a clear signal that the United States is prepared to out-innovate and outmaneuver its adversaries. This initiative, structured as a public-private partnership, pools the intellectual and financial resources of America’s leading technology firms to accelerate breakthroughs in AI, quantum computing, and semiconductor manufacturing. By fostering collaboration between government agencies and private enterprises, the Trump administration is ensuring that America remains at the forefront of technological advancement.

The Pivotal Era

We are living in an era of profound technological transformation, reminiscent of the 1990s but on a vastly greater scale. The Clinton administration had the foresight to unleash the commercial potential of the internet, a decision that propelled the United States into an era of unprecedented economic growth. The Trump administration appears poised not just to replicate but to surpass that success, recognizing that the key to American prosperity lies in empowering its technological vanguard rather than shackling it with bureaucratic constraints. The sheer concentration of talent and intellectual capital in the United States signals that dramatic change is on the horizon.

Crucially, sustained economic and technological growth depends on energy abundance. President Trump has already pledged to dismantle every regulatory barrier hindering the expansion of America’s oil and gas industry. Moreover, his administration is likely to accelerate the construction of next-generation nuclear power plants, ensuring vastly increased energy output. American prosperity hinges on an energy policy that prioritizes domestic production and independence, providing the foundation for industrial resurgence, technological leadership, and a thriving middle class.

The stakes have never been higher. The choice before us is clear: embrace an era of American technological ascendancy or succumb to the bureaucratic inertia and ideological dogma that threaten to relegate the nation to second-tier status in the global innovation race. President Trump’s vision is one of unshackled progress—a bold reaffirmation of America’s role as the preeminent technological and economic force in the world.

Ziya Hasanli is a Contributor for Liberty Affair. He lives in Warsaw, Poland. Follow him on X: