The stock market was jittery in early November as investors again questioned whether Big Tech's massive artificial intelligence spending was outpacing reality. But inside the White House, the volatility barely seemed to matter.
Asked whether he feared an AI bubble could pop and damage the economy, President Donald Trump quickly dismissed the idea.
"No, I love AI," he said, according to The New York Times.
Over the past year, Trump and top aides have leaned fully into the technology, offering funding and regulatory support for AI's biggest corporate backers. The administration is betting that AI can drive one of the few major growth engines in an otherwise uncertain U.S. economy.
That confidence was on display Tuesday after the federal government reported that the economy grew at an annual rate of more than 4% last quarter. Kevin Hassett, the director of the White House National Economic Council, told CNBC the numbers showed Trump's broader agenda was working, pointing to signs of a "boom" in AI.
Economists and even some Silicon Valley technologists remain more wary. Critics warn AI could bring significant job losses, at least temporarily, and worry the industry's rapid expansion could prove financially unsustainable.
Still, Trump — who has long treated the stock market as a key measure of success — has celebrated surging technology stocks, including Nvidia.
"Generative AI is a potential game changer for productivity and the economy," Glenn Hubbard, former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush, told the Times.
But he warned that the shift to AI could strain workers and communities as they adapt to the new technology.
"AI is happening rapidly, and we didn't help people cope with globalization and technological change very well over a 30- and 40-year period," Hubbard said. "We're probably not going to do it again."
Trump has pursued executive orders aimed at easing regulations for data centers, chips and materials, guided in part by Silicon Valley investor David Sacks, who has compared AI skeptics to a "doomer cult."
The president has framed the AI race as a "fast-paced competition" with other superpowers and says it can create thousands of jobs — even as the debate intensifies over whether growth will come without hiring.
Bharat Ramamurti, who served as an adviser to former President Joe Biden on the White House National Economic Council, argued AI can't be "fabulous for the economy" without having some effect on workers.
"One comes with the other," he said.
Research from the New York Federal Reserve Bank suggests some firms are retraining employees rather than firing them — but hiring is slowing.
Peter Navarro, Trump's top trade adviser, urged workers to consider employment in the trades.
"In an age of AI, where all the white-collar jobs are going away pretty damn quick, I think maybe it's a good time for people to think about having good blue-collar jobs," Navarro told CNBC. "That used to be how America prospered."
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.