He wants to curb the construction of energy-hungry data centers in Florida and is championing an AI “bill of rights” that would, among other things, give parents more control over how children access chatbots and other AI tools. Trump, by contrast, sees AI as a future bedrock of the American economy and has used a heavy hand to dissuade states from enacting new laws, going so far as to threaten lawsuits for any state that gets ahead of the administration.

The policy dispute does not appear to have upended the detente between Trump and DeSantis, who insist in public that the political sniping that defined the 2024 campaign is ancient history. As recently as this month, the two were golfing together at his West Palm Beach golf course.

It has raised questions, however, over whether DeSantis is simply taking a principled stand, or if he is positioning himself for a coming debate over how closely to embrace a technology that could displace millions of jobs and fuel a backlash that might resonate with Trump’s base.

Trump has taken the party in a decidedly pro-AI direction, signing executive orders that cut red tape and aim to spur the construction of data centers in the United States. He is nonetheless preparing to leave his populist following to a successor, and DeSantis, who is term-limited and will leave the governor’s mansion next year, is one of many Republicans who could seek the presidential nomination again in 2028.

“I think if anyone knows Florida, they know that Ron is doing this for one reason and one reason alone,” said one GOP operative involved in Florida politics. “It’s 2028 – the same way we’re seeing Kamala talk about 2028, it’s the same way Ron’s doing it.”

“They seem to think that the math has changed,” said the operative, who requested anonymity to speak candidly. “They seem to think that voters haven’t already made up their minds.”

Vice President JD Vance, an early GOP front-runner for 2028, has sided with Trump, though he is mindful of polls showing voter apprehension toward the technology. In terms of jobs, he argues AI will help workers be more productive, rather than replace them, and frames AI as a national security imperative due to China’s investments in the industry.

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Red states under the microscope

That view has wide support among congressional Republicans in Washington, who believe the federal government should regulate AI, but with a light touch and one national standard.

The rift can be seen more clearly at the state level, however, where GOP lawmakers in Tennessee, Nebraska, and elsewhere have begun to consider AI regulations despite a de facto moratorium Trump imposed in December.

The Florida Senate passed restrictions on data center construction at DeSantis’s urging on Thursday and was preparing to vote on consumer protections as of last week, though movement has been slower in the state House, where the Republican speaker views AI laws with skepticism.

Trump’s ban was initially perceived as a counter to the regulations being passed in blue states such as Colorado and California, where conservatives have denounced laws against “algorithmic discrimination” as opening the door to “woke” search results. But the administration has increasingly demonstrated it wants to dissuade lawmakers in red states, too.

The White House reportedly intervened to stop DeSantis’s AI bill of rights from passing the Florida House. It separately informed Utah legislators of its opposition to an “unfixable” AI transparency bill on Feb. 12, according to a letter obtained by the Washington Examiner. 

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DeSantis needles Trump

The White House is not entirely opposed to state-level regulation. AI czar David Sacks has previously stated that child safety laws would not be challenged by the administration.

“The White House fully supports child safety and has never told a State that it cannot enact child safety protections,” a White House official said in a statement, noting that Trump signed legislation last year to combat sexually explicit deepfakes online.

Yet the crackdown has prompted DeSantis to accuse Trump of pursuing an “AI amnesty,” a term that has caught the attention of the White House. 

The administration says that state regulations will create a confusing patchwork for the industry that could hamper AI growth and let larger states set the agenda for the rest of the country. DeSantis, meanwhile, has publicly challenged that logic, arguing that AI will go unregulated for years without state action, given a lack of movement on Capitol Hill.

“Congress could, theoretically, preempt states through legislation,” DeSantis said on X as Trump prepared to issue his executive order on AI.

“The problem is that Congress hasn’t proposed any coherent regulatory scheme but instead just wanted to block states from doing anything for 10 years, which would be an AI amnesty.”

DeSantis has similarly approached AI data centers with a not-in-my-backyard enthusiasm that combines affordability concerns with GOP skepticism of Big Tech. His proposals seek to prevent consumers from paying more due to high AI energy use and to bar taxpayer subsidies for their construction.

In a sign that DeSantis’s agenda has political saliency, Trump rolled out an AI energy plan to keep rates lower at his State of the Union address last week.

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A new playbook

DeSantis’s decision to butt heads with the White House on AI is a departure from the political mimicry he tested in his failed campaign for president. It also defies the playbook he’s employed since Trump won a second term.

DeSantis called a special legislative session shortly before Trump took office to support his immigration crackdown. More recently, he’s heeded the president’s calls on redistricting, throwing his weight behind an effort to carve out as many as five additional House seats for Republicans in Washington.

That approach has brought him back into the good graces of Trump, whose political orbit is dotted with Republicans who once opposed his return to the White House.

“You’re my friend, and you’ll always be my friend,” Trump told DeSantis in December, when the two appeared together for the opening of the “Alligator Alcatraz” immigrant detention facility. “We may even have some skirmishes in the future – I doubt it.”

Not all Republicans, however, are so forgiving, particularly those who view his stance on AI as evidence that DeSantis is looking beyond Trump. His resistance stands in contrast to pro-AI allies such as Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), the front-runner to succeed him as governor next year.

“I mean, it’s short-sighted, it’s simple-minded. It’s quintessentially Ron — you’re talking about attacking AI, an industry that has brought so much to Florida,” said the GOP operative.

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DeSantis, for his part, is happy to embrace the label of AI skeptic. His office replied to a request for comment with a “sampling” of 15 different X posts DeSantis has shared since November that warn of “woke AI,” highlight the harm it could cause adolescents, or describe preferential treatment for AI companies as “bad policy.”

His allies, meanwhile, have disputed that DeSantis is making a political calculation by splitting with Trump.