President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis have developed nearly as big a feud as Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier—and it’s about to go into round two. The two Republican heavyweights just went to war over two big issues: One involves hundreds of millions of dollars, and the other may determine the future of our planet.
The president and the governor have a huge fight over the use of artificial intelligence (AI), which proponents and foes alike believe will have an enormous impact on the next century or more.
“There are some people who are big advocates of AI) who almost relish in the fact that they think this just displaces human beings, and then ultimately you’re going to have AI-run society and that you’re not going to be able to control it,” said DeSantis. “Count me out on that.”
DeSantis proposed an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Bill of Rights that would clamp down on the industry’s worst excesses: your privacy, influencing your children, and forcing you to pay for the data centers needed to run AI effectively
DeSantis’ AI Bill of Rights would give parents the right to control their children’s interaction with life-like AI chatbots (who sometimes pose as friends or romantic interests), stop companies from using AI to provide online mental health “counseling,” prevent AI from using people’s name or likeness without their consent, keep AI data secure, and stop AI data centers from gobbling up water, raising rates, or receiving taxpayer subsidies.
President Trump picked up a few of these points, saying people shouldn’t see their electricity bill rise because of data centers. When President Trump said AI data centers must “pay their own way” in January, DeSantis was quick to claim credit.
“We’ve been beating this drum for months: no passing on electricity costs to consumers for AI data centers,” wrote DeSantis on social media. “Now, there is broad agreement across society — from President Trump to grassroots activists on both the right and the left — that subsidization is a non-starter.”
But for the most part, President Trump has sided with Silicon Valley companies that want to kill all state regulations of their industry. He signed an executive order stating that only the federal government has the right to regulate the AI industry—and he’s going to war with DeSantis.
The Trump administration directly contacted Florida Speaker of the House Daniel Perez to kill the legislation. The corporate-friendly Republican from Miami assigned the legislation (H.B.1395) to four different committees—a way of marking it for death.
President Trump also opened war on another front this week: His administration announced this week it’s going to stiff DeSantis for hundreds of millions of dollars.
DeSantis championed the opening of “Alligator Alcatraz,” a maximum security immigration facility in the Everglades, which received its first group of illegals last July.
DeSantis and President Trump seemed chummy as they toured the opening of the facility. But news outlets began reporting last July that Florida hadn’t received one dime of federal funding for its construction.
The Trump administration says it’s not paying, according to court documents filed on Tuesday, February 24.
The state of Florida will have to pay all $608 million for the facility’s construction and updates. .
“Any potential future federal funding is reimbursement-based” and “available only for operational costs — not construction or facility modification,” wrote Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson in the legal briefs.
State officials thought they had the money in the bag. Media reported that the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) received a letter from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approving the $608 million last September 30, the final day of the federal government’s fiscal year. But attorneys said Tuesday the letter only proved FDEM’s “eligibility” for a FEMA grant.
So, President Trump is trying to kill DeSantis’ legislation and deny him $608 million. But as usual, in politics, there’s more going on with this bickering than meets the eye—much more.
The two men are really refighting the last battles of the 2024 presidential primaries—or the first battles of 2028.
President Trump never forgave DeSantis for running for president against him in 2028. DeSantis never forgave Trump for skipping the debates and publicly humiliating him.
Now, they want revenge, and they’re taking help wherever they can get it.
The Horn told you DeSantis has led an anti-Trump rebellion, and President Trump is no stranger to political grudges himself.
The feud has spilled over into politics, where President Trump has already endorsed Rep. Byron Donalds for governor over Casey DeSantis, the governor’s wife, who has not yet announced…and Donalds has received $5 million from a pro-AI PAC called “Leading the Future.”
But interestingly, more Florida voters say DeSantis’ endorsement matters more to them (42 percent) than President Trump’s (32 percent) in the governor’s race, according to the Public Opinion Research Lab at the University of Florida
On AI, the White House is fighting alongside some strange allies: The Computer & Communications Industry Association, a lobbying group that’s also fighting two other bills Gov. DeSantis already passed, preventing platforms from using unclear or inconsistent standards to kick politicians off social media and barring children under the age of 14 from opening a social media account.
But then, so is DeSantis, who was just featured on a story at ultra-liberal NBC News, the owner of MSNOW.
“DeSantis has emerged as one of the Republican Party’s most prominent AI skeptics,” said an NBC News story on Friday. “which could distinguish him from the vice president if they run against each other in 2028.”
DeSantis is right that Americans, especially children, need protection from AI data centers. But if he’s using this as leverage to win the Republican presidential nomination in two years, well, good luck with that.
With nearly two years until the first presidential primary, polls currently show DeSantis losing to Vice President J.D. Vance…in Florida.
The newest nationwide Echelon Insights poll, released February 23, shows Vance in the lead, followed by Donald Trump Jr., and Marco Rubio. DeSantis placed fourth.
We’ve been beating this drum for months: no passing on electricity costs to consumers for AI data centers.
Now, there is broad agreement across society — from President Trump to grassroots activists on both the right and the left — that subsidization is a non-starter. https://t.co/UaJnxPrC7R
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) January 13, 2026
Then again, if President Trump thinks siding with Silicon Valley over average Americans is a political winner, they will get their own comeuppance. In fact, the Trump administration may be getting a first-hand view of AI’s troubles right now. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has threatened to sanction Anthropic AI if it does not allow the military to use it for any and all purposes—including mass surveillance and total warfare.
President Trump and Governor DeSantis may end up agreeing on AI, but don’t look for their political rivalry to end anytime soon.
The Horn will be here to bring you an honest play-by-play for every round.