Trump Called Nvidia’s CEO Onstage, Calls Data Center Opposition a “Hoax”

Huang was mid-panel at the All-In Summit in Los Angeles when President Donald Trump called in live, turning a tech investing conference into an impromptu federal policy statement on AI and data-center expansion.

Trump was put on speakerphone in front of the live audience, and the roughly five-minute call spread quickly across X and financial media, amplified by CNBC and accounts including Trump War Room.

A Conference Call Nobody Planned

The moment opened with a joke at Huang’s expense before turning to the substance of AI policy.

Before Huang could get Trump on speaker, Trump delivered the first laugh line: “He can develop the most complex computer chip that nobody can copy, but he can’t figure out how to put me on speaker,” according to TechCrunch reporting on the exchange.

Once the audio was live, Trump moved directly to substance, pledging support to the CEO of the world’s most valuable company.

What Trump Said, Verbatim

The core of Trump’s message was blunt and consistent across the call.

I’m telling you, it’s all a hoax. The data centers are great, and they make people wealthy, and they make states wealthy. Donald J. Trump, live speakerphone call to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at the All-In Summit, Los Angeles, September 14, 2026

On AI risk, he went further: “The robots will not be taking over. The AI will not be taking over the rest of the world. The whole thing is a hoax.”

Trump framed data centers as long-term national infrastructure, calling them “the oil of the next 20, 25 years,” according to Gulf News coverage of the call.

On the question of foreign competition, he tied opposition to political and geopolitical motives. He warned that detractors were “playing right into the hands of a lot of people that don’t want to see it happen,” naming political rivals and China, then pledged it would not be permitted.

Huang’s response, per TechCrunch: “You’re right. We’re not going to let that happen, sir.” The line drew applause from the summit crowd.

All-In Summit co-host Chamath Palihapitiya later described the moment on X as “surreal.”

The Debate Trump Is Responding To

Trump’s call came days after leading AI executives publicly argued for slowing frontier model development.

Days before the call, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published an essay calling for intentional slowdown of frontier AI development, citing existential risk. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Elon Musk had expressed similar positions, according to CNBC reporting.

Trump addressed that camp directly in a Truth Social post: “The people that say AI is going to destroy the World, and that Data Centers are bad for your neighborhood, are the same people that said, just a short time ago, that the World would be extinguished by ‘Climate Change.’ That HOAX never worked out for them, and now they’re on to the next one.”

The competing positions now reflect a widening divide among distinct camps:

• AI safety advocates including Amodei and Altman argue for slowing frontier model development and tighter regulatory oversight.
• Accelerationists and investors back rapid build-out, framing AI as a geopolitical race the U.S. cannot afford to lose.
• Local communities and environmental groups are raising concerns about data-center land use, water consumption, and energy demand.

The federal regulatory landscape remains unsettled, with no major AI legislation passed.

What This Means for Policy and Markets

Trump’s remarks signal a federal posture favoring infrastructure expansion over precautionary regulation, at least for now.

That posture functions as political cover for hyperscalers and cloud providers planning large capital expenditures on AI data centers. If it shapes legislation or agency priorities, the regulatory environment for AI build-out is likely to stay permissive, a boon for those exploring AI-Powered Websites and productivity tools as well.

Labeling AI safety concerns a “hoax” carries a deeper risk, noted by The New York Times and others. It makes bipartisan consensus on regulatory guardrails significantly harder to reach.

Specific intraday movement in Nvidia’s stock tied to the call had not been confirmed in available reporting at time of publication.