President Donald Trump reportedly took direct aim at The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, blasting the paper over a report that claimed China is pulling ahead of the United States in both artificial intelligence development and the energy capacity needed to power it. Trump flatly rejected the premise, calling the story “ridiculous” and insisting the U.S. is leading the world — thanks to what he described as his own aggressive policies.
“The Wall Street Journal has another ridiculous story today that China is dominating us, and the World, on the production of Electricity having to do with AI,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “They’re WRONG, as usual.”
According to the Journal’s reporting, American tech leaders are increasingly worried that China’s rapid expansion of energy production — particularly electricity needed to power AI data centers — could give Beijing a long-term strategic advantage. The article also claimed the U.S. is struggling to keep up.
Trump dismissed that narrative, asserting that the U.S. is not only competitive but far ahead. “Every AI plant being built in the United States is building its own Electric Generating Facilities,” he said. He emphasized that these facilities are being approved “carefully, but very quickly, a matter of weeks,” countering the Journal’s implication that bureaucratic delays are slowing America down.
The president went further, explaining that excess power produced by private AI-related generation is already being fed into the national electric grid, which he says his administration is strengthening and expanding “like never before.” Trump insisted that the AI sector has “far more Electricity than they will ever need because they are building the facilities that produce it, themselves.”
In classic Trump fashion, he credited his administration for America’s position in the emerging technological competition. “We are leading the World in AI, BY FAR, because of a gentleman named DONALD J. TRUMP!” he wrote.
The clash comes as the administration continues rolling out its policy blueprint for what it calls the “AI race,” including investments in American chip production and private-sector partnerships. But the White House has also faced criticism over its approval of certain chip sales to China — a move some national security hawks argue risks giving Beijing access to American-made technology.
Trump’s tension with The Wall Street Journal is nothing new. Despite the paper being part of Rupert Murdoch’s conservative media empire, Trump has repeatedly accused it of undermining his presidency and pushing anti-Trump narratives, particularly on trade and economic policy. The Journal has published several editorials questioning aspects of Trump’s agenda, further fueling his attacks.
For Trump, the Journal’s latest report fits a familiar pattern: an established media institution questioning his policies while he positions himself as the champion of American technological dominance. And if his message Thursday is any indication, he plans to keep hammering the point — the U.S. is not falling behind China, and under his leadership, it never will.
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