Steve Bannon is warning that President Donald Trump could lose his MAGA base with his latest executive order on artificial intelligence, and he is blaming the “tech bros” for it.
The former Trump adviser took to the pro-MAGA social media platform GETTR on Thursday to slam the executive order, which aims to block states from creating their own AI regulations. Bannon called the move “entirely unenforceable,” and suggested it would backfire with the very voters Trump cannot afford to alienate.
“After two humiliating face plants on must-past legislation now we attempt an entirely unenforceable EO— tech bros doing upmost to turn POTUS MAGA base away from him while they line their pockets,” Bannon wrote in a separate post on the platform.
Bannon think that if this executive order is seen as protecting Silicon Valley interests at the expense of everyday Americans, Trump risks owning the fallout. And Bannon, who has built a brand on policing what he views as betrayal inside the movement, is already planting that idea.
Trump believes the AI race is winner-take-all, and he casts unity as the only path to keeping America on top. Speaking to reporters, he argued that global competition is moving fast and that the United States cannot afford a fragmented approach.
Steve Bannon’s reaction to Trump’s AI executive order:
“…tech bros doing upmost to turn POTUS MAGA base away from him while they line their pockets” https://t.co/9aDfKIiOE8 pic.twitter.com/azMIrBmjwv
— Will Steakin (@wsteaks) December 12, 2025
“There’s only going to be one winner” as nations compete to dominate in the field of AI, Trump said, continuing: “I believe there will only be one country that really benefits and it should be the United States, and it will be if we do this, if we unify. We have to be unified,” the president added.
That pitch is that one set of rules and one national plan will have an ultimate winner, and that is exactly what has lawmakers and state officials are nervous about as they push for tighter guardrails around the fast-moving technology. As AI products spread across hiring, healthcare, marketing, education, and consumer finance, critics have argued that the oversight is not keeping pace with the technology itself.
Some lawmakers have pushed for more regulation on AI, saying there is not enough oversight for the rapidly expanding tech. The concern is not theoretical as companies are already deploying AI systems that can influence decisions about people’s jobs, loans, housing, and access to services, often with little transparency about how the systems work or what data they are trained on.
States have begun moving on their own, filling what they see as a vacuum while Washington debates the right approach. California, Colorado, Texas and Utah have already passed laws setting some rules for AI across the private sector, the Associated Press reported, citing the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP). Those efforts include limiting the collection of some personal information and requiring more transparency from corporations.
In other words, the state-level push is not just about “regulating AI” in the abstract. It is about practical limits on what companies can scoop up, how they use it, and what they must disclose when AI tools affect consumers.
Bannon believes that Trump’s new executive order is not only a bad look, but also a political trap. He is claiming that MAGA voters may not accept a move that appears to benefit major tech players while telling states to stand down.
The debate is going to be less about whether AI will reshape the economy and more about who gets to set the rules while it does. Trump is hoping that a single federal order strengthens America’s hand in a global tech arms race, and Bannon is betting that the base will see it differently.
