In a CBS 60 Minutes interview aired on November 8, US President Donald Trump said the risks of artificial intelligence "can be managed," that he "doesn't mind guardrails," and that he is willing to work with Democrats on AI safety measures — while drawing a red line: regulation must not leave the United States "in a deep second position" behind China. Reuters reported the remarks on November 9.
Interviewer Ross Douthat asked him whether the United States should accept the risks of AI in order to stay ahead of China. Trump answered that the risks are overstated — "not nearly as real" as AI doomers claim — and said China has "no guardrails." He named no specific bill, enforcement agency or timetable, and did not say what level of regulation he would accept.
From "just a president" to "let's talk guardrails"
The shift in tone is clear. In September, Trump dismissed AI safety concerns as a hoax, saying the only guardrails AI needs are "a strong and smart president"; he had also long argued that tech companies should police themselves. This is the most open he has been toward federal guardrails since taking office: no longer "no regulation needed," but "we can talk" — provided the United States stays number one.
The backdrop is a change of hands in Congress. Democrats won both chambers in the November 3 midterm elections and are preparing hearings on the GUARD Act and the AI LEAD Act, covering protection of minors and AI liability. The executive order Trump signed on June 2 still centered on encouraging innovation and opposing overregulation. His new remarks leave the door open for bipartisan legislation, but promise nothing: how bills are written, who enforces them and when they land are all still unknown. Tighter rules at the platform level already have precedents, Pinterest writes its AI rules into its user agreement on November 12: violations can mean bans, and old Pins feed model training, and the wrangling among big companies over AI training data has not stopped either, robots.txt as a unified opt-out signal: Google, Microsoft and OpenAI all agree, implementation still pending.
What is really worth watching next is the hearing schedule and bill texts Democrats put forward, and whether the White House follows with concrete proposals. Until then, "guardrails" remain a remark, not a policy.
