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The Hill
4 minutes ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Pressure on Trump grows as Greene joins MAGA voices criticizing Israel on Gaza
Members of President Trump's MAGA base are speaking out about the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Gaza, adding to pressure on the administration to intervene and underscoring a looming divide among Trump supporters over how to approach the situation. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas) and podcast host Theo Von are among those who have expressed alarm in recent days about the situation in Gaza, where Trump acknowledged this week ' real starvation ' was happening on the ground. The increasing unease among some of Trump's staunchest supporters puts a spotlight on the administration's close ties with Israel and raises additional questions about what exactly Trump will do to get aid into Gaza. 'A way has to be found to get aid to Gaza and to discredit efforts by Hamas to blame the humanitarian situation on the U.S. and Israel,' one source close to the White House told The Hill. 'Trump is committed to ending this conflict, but I don't know what his next steps will be.' Trump said Monday he did 'not particularly' agree with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's claim that there was no starvation happening in Gaza, which has been devastated by Israel's war against Hamas. The president also said the U.S. would take a more active role in getting food into the region. 'I think everybody unless they're cold-hearted or worse than that, nuts, there's nothing you can say other than it's terrible,' Trump said Tuesday of the images of children going hungry. But Trump also indicated Tuesday that Israel would take a leading role in helping to get more food into Gaza. Critics have argued Israel, which in March imposed an embargo on aid going into Gaza, is partly responsible for the deteriorating conditions in Gaza. 'They don't want Hamas stealing the money and stealing the food. I think Israel wants to do it. And they'll be good at doing it,' Trump said, adding that he spoke to Netanyahu 'two days ago.' The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a United Nations-affiliated group, said in a report Tuesday that the ' worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip.' Trump's own messaging around Gaza — that there is a genuine humanitarian crisis on the ground but that Israel deserves deference to operate — is reflective of the differing views among his own supporters. Podcast host Joe Rogan, who has a massive audience and hosted Trump on his show during the 2024 campaign, has been outspoken about the situation in Gaza. Von, another prominent podcast host who has sat down with Trump and Vice President Vance, urged leaders this week to do more to get aid into Gaza. 'Standing with Israel means eliminating every barbaric Hamas terrorist. It also means rejecting the killing and starvation of children in Gaza,' Gooden, a Trump ally, posted on the social platform X. 'We must allow aid to enter Gaza. Ending this hunger crisis will not only spare the lives of children but will strip Hamas of its ability to use innocent children as pawns in their depraved acts of barbarism.' Greene, one of Trump's most high-profile supporters in the House, took to social media this week to condemn the conditions in Gaza. 'It's the most truthful and easiest thing to say that Oct 7th in Israel was horrific and all hostages must be returned, but so is the genocide, humanitarian crisis, and starvation happening in Gaza,' Greene posted on X, becoming the first GOP lawmaker to publicly refer to the situation in Gaza as a 'genocide.' Greene also tangled online with fellow House Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.), who dismissed suggestions that people are starving in Gaza. 'There is no starvation. Everything about the 'Palestinian' cause is a lie,' Fine, one of three Jewish Republicans in the House, wrote in a post Sunday. Last week, Fine posted: 'Release the hostages. Until then, starve away.' Greene in a post criticizing Fine said his 'calling for the continued starvation of innocent people and children is disgraceful. His awful statement will actually cause more antisemitism.' It's still unclear, however, if the growing criticism within MAGA of the hunger crisis in Gaza is a sign of a mounting break among Trump's base when it comes to Israel and the Middle East. A Gallup poll published Tuesday found U.S. support for Israel's military action in Gaza had dropped to 32 percent, down 10 percentage points since September. But Republican support for Israel's actions in Gaza had actually ticked up from 66 percent in September to 71 percent in the latest poll. Support for Israel has long been a cornerstone of Republican foreign policy, and many in the party have argued Israel has a right to destroy Hamas after the terrorist group carried out deadly attacks on Oct. 7, 2023. Those attacks killed approximately 1,200 people, while Gazan authorities, which report to Hamas, have estimated casualties in Gaza as amounting to 60,000 people, a figure that includes militants and civilians. Trump has referred to himself as the most pro-Israel president in history, and there are Trump loyalists, such as Fine, who have been adamantly opposed to doing more to address the situation. Then there is Laura Loomer, who has previously described herself as a 'proud Islamophobe' but has had audiences in recent months with both Trump and Vance. Loomer has criticized the mechanism used to send aid to Gaza and dismissed reports of starvation as 'fake.' 'Members of the US Congress should not be pushing Palestinian Propaganda,' Loomer posted on X.
The Hill
4 minutes ago
- Business
- The Hill
US-China race takes center stage as Trump defines AI policy
The Trump administration is increasingly framing the race to dominate artificial intelligence (AI) as an existential competition with China to determine the future of the powerful technology. It's a mindset that has permeated the administration's push to define its AI policy, including as it unveiled its action plan on the subject this month. 'The United States is in a race to achieve global dominance in artificial intelligence,' an introduction to the plan from several key Trump officials reads. 'Whoever has the largest AI ecosystem will set global AI standards and reap broad economic and military benefits.' 'Just like we won the space race, it is imperative that the United States and its allies win this race,' it continues. Outside observers generally say the administration is not overstating either the fact of the intense race or the importance of winning it. They compare the battle to the arms race or the space race in decades past. 'It's an AI arms race,' Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives told The Hill. 'The U.S., I believe, is ahead of China, but China is not sitting on a treadmill.' The new AI model from the Chinese startup DeepSeek was dubbed 'AI's Sputnik moment' by venture capitalist Marc Andreessen. Sputnik, the first artificial satellite launched into space by the Soviet Union, took the U.S. by surprise and marked the start of the space race between Washington and Moscow. DeepSeek's highly capable model similarly shook the American AI landscape, raising questions for U.S. tech firms about the need for vast investments in computing power and the prospect that Chinese tech firms could eventually surpass them. 'You risk becoming reliant on other countries, and then in a moment of crisis, you may not have access to the technology or software that you need,' Owen Tedford, a senior research analyst at Beacon Policy Advisors, said of the stakes of the AI race. The Trump administration has approached the growing prospect of Chinese AI by pushing for a focus on innovation over regulation, drawing a sharp contrast with the Biden administration. In its 28-page framework, the Trump administration detailed its plan to win the AI competition, with a focus on removing regulations, expediting the construction of data center and energy infrastructure and exporting U.S. technology abroad. After taking office, President Trump rescinded former President Biden's executive order on AI guardrails, while Vice President Vance criticized 'excessive regulation' of AI while in Europe earlier this year. Trump's AI plan looks to boost innovation by taking aim at both federal and state AI rules, directing his administration to slash federal funding for states with regulations deemed too 'onerous' — not unlike the AI moratorium some Republicans unsuccessfully sought to squeeze into the president's 'big, beautiful bill.' The framework also aims to encourage the adoption of American technology abroad, another key aspect on which the administration is differentiating itself from its predecessor on the AI race. The Biden administration took a more restrictive approach toward the export of American AI, primarily through limits on chip sales that sought to prevent the key hardware from winding up in the hands of foreign adversaries such as China. Biden released the AI diffusion rule in his final days in office, placing caps on chip sales to most countries around the world other than a select few U.S. allies and partners. Trump rescinded the rule in May shortly before it was set to take effect. While some Republicans have urged him to release a new version of the diffusion rule, the president has opted to focus on exporting U.S. technology as a means of boosting AI leadership abroad as opposed to limiting China's resources. He signed an executive order Wednesday directing his administration to create an American AI Exports Program that will develop full-stack AI export packages, featuring U.S. chips, AI models and applications. 'There's a belief that maybe by dominating the AI race, if we are able to be technology leaders, China will end up becoming reliant on us instead of cutting it out and forcing it to create its own domestic alternatives,' Tedford said. 'It's an argument that didn't really seem to have much weight in the Biden administration but seems to be carrying the day much more with the Trump administration,' he added. Ben Buchanan, a White House special adviser on AI during the Biden administration, argued in a New York Times op-ed Thursday that Trump is making a 'profound mistake' when it comes to China. His criticism centers on a key decision made last week by the Trump administration to once again allow Nvidia to sell its H20 chips to China. Earlier this year, the U.S. implemented new licensing requirements that limited Nvidia's ability to sell the chips in China. However, the company recently revealed it was filing applications to sell the H20s after receiving assurances from the Trump administration that its licenses would be granted. Buchanan argued the decision 'threatens American dominance' over AI because 'Nvidia's chips will give China's A.I. ecosystem, and its government, just what it needs to surpass the United States in the most critical arenas.' Trump's approach also risks alienating the China hawks within his own party, who have voiced concerns that it could boost Beijing's AI capabilities. Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, questioned the administration's decision to allow for H20 sales to China in a letter Friday. 'As the Trump administration has repeatedly stated, the U.S. must ensure that American rather than Chinese tech companies build the global AI infrastructure,' he wrote. 'At the same time, however, we must also ensure that the world does not adopt Chinese AI models trained on U.S. technology.' Another outspoken Republican, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), is pushing back on the third prong of Trump's AI plan, which seeks to boost the construction of AI data center and energy infrastructure. The administration has repeatedly underscored the infrastructure needs for building out American AI capabilities, with Energy Secretary Chris Wright comparing the AI race to the Manhattan Project. The tech industry has also ramped up pressure, specifically on the energy front. Anthropic argued in a recent report that the U.S. is 'lagging in bringing energy generation online,' while China is 'rapidly building energy infrastructure for AI.' However, Greene warned Thursday that there are 'massive future implications and problems' with Trump's data center buildout given its potential impact on water supply, while also taking aim at the president's plan to target state AI rules. 'Competing with China does not mean become like China by threatening state rights, replacing human jobs on mass scale creating mass poverty, and creating potentially devastating effects on our environment and critical water supply,' she said.
Times
3 hours ago
- Business
- Times
We should be worried that the AI utopia is being shaped by men
Jensen Huang didn't appear to see the irony. 'AI is the greatest technology equaliser of all time,' the boss of Nvidia told a panel of four men dressed almost identically in blue suits. 'Everybody is going to be augmented by AI. Everybody's an artist now. Everybody's an author now. Everybody's a programmer now.' Huang was speaking at an AI summit in Washington last week organised by The Hill and Valley Forum and the All-In business and technology podcast, hosted by its unapologetically all-male line up of four tech investors and entrepreneurs, including David Sacks, the White House AI and crypto tsar. The event, where President Trump unveiled a low-regulation action plan for AI, was a celebratory occasion for Nvidia and the bosses of the big tech companies that are buying Nvidia chips in an effort to dominate in the race to develop the most advanced AI. However, it was a strange sort of Utopia Huang was describing, one in which people will apparently outsource their work and creativity to language models that will define the cultural norm. Judging by the people leading the development of and discourse around advanced AI in America, that normalisation is going to be predominantly defined by men. Overall, female leaders are severely underrepresented in technology leadership roles in AI companies, holding 22 per cent of product, engineering and science roles, according to analysis by Russell Reynolds Associates, the leadership recruitment firm. Meanwhile, women are more likely to have their jobs replaced by generative AI, and they have been slower to adopt AI technology into their work, according to the World Economic Forum. Researchers have warned that AI models are using biased data that could lead to flawed outcomes in areas like healthcare, finance and law. For all the long-term promise of AI, it is making the world more dangerous for women and children. So-called 'nudifier' apps are using AI to create explicit deepfakes of women from ordinary photographs. Campaigners and parents are raising the alarm about a lack of guardrails around chatbots that can interact with children. A mother from Florida is suing a start-up that allows anyone to create an AI character to interact with, over the suicide of her 14-year-old boy who killed himself after he fell for one of its bots. Elon Musk has revealed new online companions via the Grok chatbot on X, his social media platform, which the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, a charity, described as perpetuating 'sexual objectification of girls and women'. There are signs of a gender divide in how the development of AI is being discussed. While male tech bosses have led calls for less red tape so the US can dominate in the global AI arms race, female tech leaders have advocated for a human-centric approach that promotes both innovation and has guardrails to prevent harm. Mira Murati, the former chief technology officer at OpenAI, has previously said government regulators should be 'very involved' in developing safety standards for advanced AI models. Dr Fei-Fei Li, a Stanford University computer scientist who has been called the 'godmother of AI', said this year that AI policies should be grounded in 'science, not science fiction' and should focus on the real-world challenges of the technology rather than on apocalyptic or Utopian fantasies. Li co-authored a report for the Joint California Policy Working Group on AI Frontier Models in June that called for increased transparency from companies developing advanced models, suggesting they should be required to disclose publicly information about their safety tests, and risk assessments, citing the tobacco industry's failure to disclose health risks to users. There are many other trailblazing female tech leaders developing AI, including Daniela Amodei, president of Anthropic, and Lila Ibrahim, chief operating officer of Google Deepmind. However, it is hard to ignore that women are underrepresented in the debate around the development of advanced AI, and that we should be worrying about it.
The Hill
11 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Texas Democrat James Talarico ‘hoping to make a decision soon' on Senate run
Texas state Rep. James Talarico (D) said he's hoping to decide 'soon' on whether to run for Sen. John Cornyn's (R) Senate seat in what Democrats hope will become a pickup opportunity next year. Talarico told NewsNation's Blake Burman on 'The Hill' on Tuesday that he plans to decide after the special legislative session that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) called to try to redraw the congressional district lines wraps up at the end of August. 'I am hoping to make a decision soon,' he said, adding that he's been 'distracted' by the session in which Republicans are trying to 'ram through' the mid-decade redistricting to reduce the number of Democratic-held seats. 'Once that's over, I'll be able to make a decision about how I can best serve, and I am looking at the U.S. Senate seat and so I'm hoping to focus on that after I get through my current job,' he added. Talarico has recently received attention as he considers a bid for the Democratic nomination for the Texas Senate seat in 2026. If he runs, he would face former Rep. Colin Allred (D), who was the Democratic nominee for the state's other Senate seat in 2024, and possibly a few other candidates who have expressed interest in running. Talarico appeared on Joe Rogan's podcast earlier this month and received praise from the host, telling him 'You need to run for president.' The state lawmaker has also gained a following through his TikTok account, which has nearly 1 million followers, in which he speaks against Texas Republican policies. Cornyn, meanwhile, is in the midst of a primary battle against state Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has argued that Cornyn is a 'RINO,' an acronym meaning 'Republican in name only.' The senior senator has pushed back and pointed to his voting record being overwhelmingly aligned with President Trump, but early polls have shown Paxton well ahead. Some Cornyn allies have expressed concerns that Paxton's primary win could give Democrats an opening to win the seat in the general election.
The Hill
11 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Talarico: Trump, GOP trying to rig Texas election
Texas state Rep. James Talarico (D) accused President Trump and the Republican Party of trying to 'rig' elections in the state with their plan to conduct a mid-decade redistricting to increase the number of GOP-held seats. Talarico told NewsNation's Blake Burman on 'The Hill' on Tuesday that his focus has been on the special legislative session that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) called to vote on potentially redistricting before the 2026 midterms take place. 'This is really dangerous for everybody, not just Democrats, because what's happening is President Trump and Gov. Abbott are trying to rig the next election,' he said. 'I know that sounds dramatic, but… now by redrawing the political maps, they're trying to insulate themselves from the will of the voters.' Abbott initially called for a special legislative session this month to address various issues but later indicated the state legislature would address redistricting as the Texas GOP moves to eliminate or weaken Democratic-held districts. Trump specifically called on the state to add five more Republican districts through this process. The moves in Texas appear poised to set off a race between Republican and Democratic-led states, as several are now considering redrawing their lines early to increase the number of seats a party is likely to win next year. Ohio was already set to redistrict because its last map didn't have bipartisan support, a possible opportunity for Republicans to add more seats, while California and New York Democratic officials have indicated they would take similar action if Republicans do so first. Talarico, who is considering a run for Senate in Texas, said he would decide whether to run 'soon' after the legislative session wraps up at the end of August.
