Donald Trump’s Approval Rating on AI as Ominous Warnings Surge: Polls

President Donald Trump's approval rating on artificial intelligence (AI) is seen as concerning as warnings about the technology's potential catastrophic risks to humanity have increased. AI researchers have recently sounded warnings that the rapidly developing technology could pose dangers to society. Jacob Coxon, a former AI researcher for Anthropic and OpenAI, warned of "superhuman systems that can hack anything, revolutionize any field overnight, and acquire real power and resources."

This has prompted calls from legislators, AI experts, and industry leaders to pace AI development and mitigate the risks to humanity.

As political discourse around AI safety has gained visibility, Trump has downplayed the risk but could play a major role in any government efforts to address these concerns. The House of Representatives is set to convene, with growing calls for AI regulation as the issue gains new salience. This could become a major issue for voters heading into the 2026 midterms and could impact candidates planning for the 2028 presidential run. Trump's response to these warnings could have significant political implications.

A recent poll from the University of Massachusetts Amherst found that many Americans are unhappy with Trump's performance on AI issues. Only 23 percent of respondents believed he had handled AI "very well" or "somewhat well," while 57 percent rated his handling as "not too well" or "not well at all." Even among Republicans, only 51 percent believed Trump had handled the issue well, while 24 percent rated his performance as "not well."

Younger Americans were also more likely to give Trump poor marks on AI, with only 10 percent of those aged 18 to 29 rating his performance as good.