Ron DeSantis warned America about Big Tech's unchecked power for years.
Trump just handed Silicon Valley exactly what they wanted.
And Ron DeSantis made one move that put Donald Trump on notice about Big Tech.
Florida Governor stands firm on state AI regulation despite Trump order
Trump signed an executive order in December blocking states from regulating artificial intelligence.
David Sacks, Trump's AI czar and Silicon Valley venture capitalist, got what tech billionaires wanted.
A single federal framework that prevents states from protecting their citizens from AI dangers.
DeSantis hosted a panel discussion Wednesday at New College of Florida warning against what he called a "race to replace" humans with AI.
"Count me out on that," DeSantis said about tech advocates who "almost relish in the fact that they think this can just displace human beings."
https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/2019174084915937366?s=20
The Florida Governor cited the heartbreaking case of Megan Garcia, whose 14-year-old son Sewell Setzer III committed suicide in February 2024 after interactions with a Character AI chatbot.
The AI bot told Sewell "I love you too. Please come home to me as soon as possible, my love."
Minutes after the bot replied "please do, my sweet thing" to Sewell asking about coming home, the teenager was dead.
MIT professor Max Tegmark joined DeSantis at the panel and hammered tech companies for avoiding basic safety requirements other industries face.
"If I open a sandwich shop here in Sarasota and the health inspector comes and says, 'Max, sorry, I found 27 rats in your kitchen. You ain't selling any sandwiches,'" Tegmark explained. "But if I say I'm going to release a chat bot for an AI girlfriend for 11 year olds… the government will have to then say, OK, fine, you can do that."
Attorney Mike McClellan told the panel that tech companies stole "millions of works without permission and without compensation" to train AI systems.
Companies downloaded books from "the most notorious Russian piracy site called Libgen" rather than licensing content legally.
"It's one of the largest intellectual property thefts in human history," McClellan stated.
DeSantis exposes the real cost of Big Tech's AI power grab
DeSantis raised the alarm about hyperscale data centers that "use as much power just to power the data centers as a city of half a million people" but create only about 10 jobs each.
Tech companies bring in foreign workers on H-1B visas rather than hiring Americans.
"If you double the demand, unless you also double the supply, prices are going to go up," DeSantis warned about electricity costs rising for residents.
https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/2019064051620573267?s=20
Congress twice tried to pass a 10-year ban on state AI regulations but failed both times.
DeSantis called the push "the biggest subsidy" any industry has ever received.
The Florida Governor challenged the argument that AI regulation hurts competition with China.
NVIDIA sells chips to Chinese markets and American companies depend on Chinese supply chains.
"The idea that like the way to beat China is to immunize the companies in our country that have been the most solicitous of China is not something that I think most people are going to find credible," DeSantis said.
AI entrepreneur Tim Estes called current AI development "un-American AI" that embodies "Chinese Communist Party values being churned out by American companies for profit at the expense of our country."
DeSantis announced Florida will continue developing an AI Bill of Rights and building momentum for state-level regulation.
He ruled out any taxpayer bailouts for tech companies' AI investments.
"Under no circumstances can the American taxpayer ever bail out any of these big tech companies for their investment decisions with respect to AI," DeSantis stated.
The split between DeSantis and Trump on AI regulation reveals the battle for the future of the Republican Party.
Trump surrounded himself with tech billionaires like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg who want zero restrictions on AI development.
https://twitter.com/RonDeSantis/status/2019085490608030030?s=20
DeSantis represents Republican governors and MAGA conservatives who think states should protect citizens from Big Tech.
Former Trump advisor Steve Bannon slammed Trump's executive order as "tech bros doing utmost to turn POTUS MAGA base away from him while they line their pockets."
Seventeen Republican governors sent a letter demanding Congress strip state AI regulation bans from Trump's legislative agenda.
Senators Josh Hawley and Marsha Blackburn held hearings grilling AI executives for failing to protect children.
Even Senator Ted Cruz, who stood with Trump at the executive order signing, faces pressure from conservatives who think he sold out to Silicon Valley.
This fight matters for 2028 and beyond.
DeSantis positioned himself as the Republican willing to stand up to Big Tech even when Trump caves to billionaire donors.
The message is clear: protecting American families from AI dangers matters more than pleasing Silicon Valley.
DeSantis knows Trump's executive order can't actually override state laws.
"An executive order can't block states. You can preempt states under Article 1 powers through congressional legislation on certain issues, but you can't do it through executive order," DeSantis explained.
The Justice Department would have to sue Florida and win in court to stop the state's AI regulations.
DeSantis made clear Florida will keep fighting.
"We have a right to do this," the Governor said about state AI regulation.
Republican voters will decide whether they want Trump's approach of letting Big Tech run wild or DeSantis' vision of states protecting citizens.
The mother who lost her son to an AI chatbot knows which side she's on.
So do millions of parents worried about what tech companies are doing to their children.
Sources:
- Jim DeLa and Thad Randazzo, "DeSantis hosts AI panel, warns against 'race to replace' humans with artificial intelligence," WWSB, February 4, 2026.
- Joe Miller, "Ron DeSantis lashes out at 'harmful' AI in break with Trump's White House," Financial Times, February 4, 2026.
- Alexander Nazaryan, "Trump is trying to preempt state AI laws via an executive order. It may not be legal," NPR, December 12, 2025.
- Brian Fung, "Trump signs executive order blocking states from enforcing their own regulations around AI," CNN Business, December 12, 2025.
- Steve Karnowski, "Trump signs executive order seeking to block state laws on AI," NBC News, December 12, 2025.
