Trump Rejects Globalist AI Controls in Blow to UK’s Burnham

Donald Trump has rejected any attempt to build a “globalist scheme” to control artificial intelligence, a direct rebuke to UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s plan to use Britain’s G20 presidency to forge international rules for the technology. Speaking to the UN on Tuesday, Trump said the United States “totally rejects” such an approach, and announced his administration would henceforth refer to AI as “superintelligence.” The remarks landed hours before his first face-to-face meeting with Burnham in New York, a session that appeared largely amicable despite the fundamental disagreement over how to govern a technology both leaders consider strategically vital.

Burnham has positioned the UK as a potential “honest broker” between Washington and Beijing, arguing that London could help build a global framework for AI oversight during its year chairing the G20. Trump’s dismissal undercuts that ambition before it can take shape. The president made clear where he stands, asserting that the US is “leading now over China by a lot and everyone else, and we’re going to keep it that way.” His comments came ahead of a scheduled meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House this week, setting the stage for a summit where AI competition, not cooperation, will dominate.

The bilateral meeting itself was notable for its tone. Trump praised Burnham as a “natural businessman” and predicted he would be a “great prime minister,” a marked contrast with his strained relationship with predecessor Sir Keir Starmer. Asked about the state of relations, Trump said they were “more up than they were under your last prime minister,” and he joked with Burnham, a former mayor of Greater Manchester, about previously dismissing the city as “some town.” Burnham said the two leaders had formed a “good connection” during the roughly 40-minute meeting.

Beneath the cordiality, however, lay unresolved tensions. Trump weighed in on the future of the US-UK base at Diego Garcia, calling a British plan to lease the island back from Mauritius “ridiculous” and “a terrible deal,” and noting that “somebody has ownership that never showed up before after decades and centuries.” Britain has frozen the Chagos Islands agreement, negotiated under Starmer, and Burnham said he had “inherited this situation” and needed a resolution. The two also discussed Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, with Burnham defending London’s decision to impose sanctions on products from illegal settlements.

The split over AI governance is more than a diplomatic flashpoint. It reflects a deeper divergence in how the world’s major powers approach a technology with sweeping economic and security implications. Trump’s framing of AI as “superintelligence” signals a competitive, zero-sum worldview in which US leadership is non-negotiable and multilateral constraints are seen as a threat to national advantage. Burnham’s “honest broker” pitch assumes a role for the UK that only works if Washington is willing to engage in rule-making at all. Trump’s speech suggests it is not.

For the UK, the stakes are practical as well as symbolic. London has tried to position itself as a bridge between the US and China on everything from trade to technology, but that role is only viable if both sides want a bridge. Trump’s rejection of a “globalist scheme” closes the door on the kind of comprehensive agreement Burnham has floated, at least for now. The meeting may have been warm, but the policy gap remains wide, and Burnham returns to London with little to show for his diplomatic overture beyond a polite hearing.

The broader question is whether any global framework for AI can emerge without US participation. The European Union and others have pursued their own regulatory paths, but the technology’s leading developers are American and Chinese. Trump’s stance suggests that for the foreseeable future, AI governance will be shaped by national competition rather than international consensus. Burnham’s G20 initiative is not dead, but it is badly wounded, and the president’s words on Tuesday will resonate well beyond the UN chamber. The takeaway for investors and policymakers is clear: the era of ambitious multilateralism on AI is on hold, and the race to lead in “superintelligence” will be run on American terms, with everyone else scrambling to keep up.