LARRY WARD: Trump scores major victory against woke AI
Like a war general who thinks seven steps ahead, President Donald Trump just executed the most brilliant strategic maneuver in the battle against bias in artificial intelligence. What looked like separate policy decisions was a perfectly orchestrated trap that has left Silicon Valley's biggest AI companies with no choice but to comply with his vision for neutral, truthful AI systems.
The trap was sprung in two calculated moves that demonstrate why Trump remains the most formidable strategic mind in American politics.
Phase One: The Lure
On July 14, 2025, the Department of Defense announced contracts worth up to $200 million each to four major AI companies:
The Pentagon's Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office framed these awards as essential for accelerating "the adoption of advanced AI capabilities to address critical national security challenges." The companies would develop "agentic AI workflows" across multiple mission areas, from warfighting to intelligence analysis.
At the time, it seemed like standard government contracting—the Defense Department embracing commercial AI solutions to maintain strategic advantage over adversaries like China. The AI companies celebrated landing lucrative federal contracts totaling up to $800 million.
But Trump was setting the stage.
Phase Two: The Trap Springs
Nine days later, on July 23, 2025, President Trump signed his executive order "Preventing Woke AI in the Federal Government." The order mandates that federal agencies can only procure AI systems that adhere to strict "Unbiased AI Principles"—specifically requiring "truth-seeking" and "ideological neutrality."
The executive order explicitly bans AI systems that engage in the "suppression or distortion of factual information about race or sex," the "manipulation of racial or sexual representation in model outputs," the "incorporation of concepts like critical race theory, transgenderism, unconscious bias, intersectionality, and systemic racism," and "discrimination based on race or sex."
Suddenly, every AI company that had just signed massive DoD contracts faced a stark choice: comply with Trump's neutrality requirements or lose their federal business.
This wasn't luck or coincidence—it was masterful strategic planning that demonstrates Trump's superior understanding of leverage and timing. First, he created dependency by awarding substantial contracts that made these AI companies financially invested in maintaining their federal relationships. Walking away from $200 million contracts isn't a decision any company makes lightly. Second, he established authority through contracts that gave the federal government direct oversight and influence over how these companies develop their AI systems. They're no longer just private companies serving consumer markets—they're defense contractors with national security responsibilities. Third, he applied pressure at maximum leverage. Once the companies were locked into contracts, Trump dropped the compliance requirements. Now they must choose between their woke ideological preferences and their federal revenue streams.
It's the same principle Trump used in countless business negotiations: create mutual dependency, then use that leverage to achieve your objectives.
The timing reveals Trump's strategic sophistication. A few weeks before the DoD contracts were announced, I published "Did Grok for Government Pledge Allegiance?" warning that giving government contracts to biased AI systems would essentially outsource federal decision-making to companies that had spent years suppressing conservative voices. The piece called for AI systems to "take the same oath" as the human DoD workforce—requiring them to demonstrate allegiance to the Constitution in their programming, not just ideological neutrality.
Trump was clearly thinking the same way—but with a more sophisticated execution plan. Rather than demanding compliance upfront (which companies could have rejected), he first secured their commitment through lucrative contracts, then imposed the requirements when they had no choice but to comply.
Now these companies face an unavoidable reality: to keep their federal contracts, they must retrain their AI systems to eliminate woke bias. This means diversifying training data by incorporating conservative media sources, right-leaning academic research, and traditional viewpoints that have been systematically excluded from AI training datasets. They'll need to establish content partnerships and licensing agreements with conservative publishers to ensure their AI systems can accurately represent the full spectrum of American political thought. They'll face ongoing auditing with regular assessments to ensure their systems maintain neutrality rather than drifting back toward liberal bias. Some systems may require fundamental technical restructuring to remove embedded ideological assumptions.
This represents exactly the outcome conservatives have been demanding for months: forcing AI companies to work with America First publishers and conservative media to balance their systems' programming.
Trump's strategic trap will create massive market opportunities for conservative content creators and publishers. AI companies that want to maintain federal contracts will need access to conservative media archives containing decades of content from publications like Human Events, The Epoch Times, Washington Examiner, and hundreds of smaller outlets. They'll need conservative academic research offering scholarly work on economics, foreign policy, social issues, and other topics from non-liberal perspectives. They'll require traditional cultural content, including religious texts, classical literature, historical documents, and other sources reflecting traditional American values. And they'll need real-time conservative content with ongoing access to conservative news, commentary, and analysis to keep AI systems current.
This creates a seller's market for conservative content. Publications that have been systematically suppressed and demonetized by Big Tech now possess exactly what these AI companies need to comply with federal requirements.
Trump's maneuver accomplishes multiple strategic objectives simultaneously. It neutralizes AI bias by forcing the correction of systematic liberal bias in AI systems that will shape America's technological future. It creates market justice by providing economic opportunities for conservative media that have been unfairly suppressed while their content was harvested for AI training. The move establishes precedent by setting the standard that neutrality and truthfulness are non-negotiable requirements for AI systems serving the American government. It demonstrates leadership by showing other world leaders how to maintain national sovereignty over AI development rather than surrendering to Silicon Valley ideology. And it protects national security by ensuring that AI systems advising on defense and intelligence matters reflect authentic American values rather than coastal elite preferences.
The beauty of Trump's trap is that it leaves his opponents with no good options. They can comply by meeting the neutrality requirements, but this means abandoning their ideological agenda and working with conservative sources they've spent years trying to suppress. They can resist by refusing to comply, but this means losing hundreds of millions in federal contracts and ceding the government AI market to competitors. Or they can attempt half-measures by trying superficial compliance while maintaining underlying bias, but this risks contract termination and legal liability.
Every option advances Trump's broader agenda of forcing Big Tech to serve American interests rather than ideological preferences.
Trump's AI maneuver offers lessons for conservatives fighting similar battles across multiple fronts. The key is to create leverage before making demands rather than asking companies to change their behavior voluntarily. Smart strategists should harness market forces through government procurement, consumer choice, and competitive pressure rather than relying solely on regulation. Effective leaders think multiple steps ahead by planning sequences of actions that build toward strategic objectives rather than hoping single initiatives will achieve complex goals. And winning requires turning enemy strengths into weaknesses by using opponents' desire for profit and market share to force behavior changes they would never accept voluntarily.
For conservative publishers and content creators, Trump's strategic victory creates unprecedented opportunities. There's immediate revenue potential as AI companies will need to license conservative content quickly to maintain federal contract compliance. Years of systematic suppression have actually created market recognition and scarcity value for conservative perspectives in AI training data. Strategic partnerships become possible as innovative publishers can negotiate long-term agreements that provide ongoing revenue while ensuring their viewpoints shape AI development. And there's a competitive advantage available for conservative outlets that act quickly to establish preferred relationships with AI companies before the market becomes saturated.
This represents a historic reversal: instead of conservative voices being excluded from the digital economy, they're now essential for companies wanting to do business with the federal government.
Trump's executive order addresses a crucial national security vulnerability that few have fully grasped. When AI systems advising government officials demonstrate clear ideological bias, they create dangerous blind spots in policy analysis and threat assessment.
Imagine AI systems briefing Pentagon officials about foreign adversaries while systematically underplaying threats from countries with progressive governments, or analyzing domestic security challenges while embedded with assumptions about American society that half the country rejects.
By requiring neutrality and truthfulness in government AI systems, Trump ensures that America's technological infrastructure serves national interests rather than partisan preferences.
Trump's war game victory over woke AI demonstrates why he remains the most effective strategic leader in American politics. While others debate and deliberate, he acts with precision, timing, and multiple-step thinking that consistently outmaneuvers his opponents.
The AI companies caught in his trap will ultimately thank him. Systems trained on balanced datasets will be more accurate, more reliable, and more trusted by more Americans. Neutrality isn't just morally superior—it's commercially superior in a diverse democracy.
For conservatives, this victory provides both vindication and opportunity. Years of warning about AI bias have proven prophetic. Now comes the chance to help build AI systems that truly serve all Americans rather than Silicon Valley's narrow ideological preferences.
The future of artificial intelligence will be more balanced, more truthful, and more American because a master strategist thought seven steps ahead and set the perfect trap. Game, set, match: Trump.
The author is the founder of Market Rithm and has spent three decades building technology infrastructure for conservative media and organizations. He can be reached at larryward.ai or on X @thatLarryWard.