How AI fractured the bipartisan anti-Big Tech alliance

What they're saying: "The uncharitable read is these executives have just cozied up to the White House and are pulling the strings, and that's why there's been this shift," Brad Littlejohn, director of programs at conservative populist think tank American Compass, told Axios.

• He said he's had conversations with people in the White House who agree with American Compass' concern that tech and AI companies push dangerous, addictive products on children and exercise too much market power, but the people who have the president's ear on AI think differently.
• "The charitable read is to say that AI is so fundamentally new and transformative and disruptive that we actually have to push the pause button on how we're thinking about tech regulation," he said.

The big picture: As AI companies drive stocks to record highs and raise eye-popping sums of money, they're also hiring from one another, investing in each other's products, incentivizing users to stay on their platforms, gobbling up data for training, and straining energy use.

• This market consolidation would have been likely to raise eyebrows in certain sects of MAGA world if the AI companies weren't such darlings of the administration.

AI and Big Tech companies have completely changed their posture toward Trump this administration, settling with him for millions over content fights, donating to his ballroom project and frequently attending West Wing dinners.

• Such overtures have paid off in policy world: The Trump administration recently asked for feedback on cutting AI red tape, and a September court decision about Google's search dominance disappointed many who were angling for a full breakup.
• Enforcement of dealmaking has eased up, a shift from a Biden-era increased scrutiny on mergers and acquisitions. This week, the Department of Justice approved Google's $32 billion acquisition of cybersecurity company Wiz.

Yes, but: There's still Republican angst toward tech companies — Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) last month held a hearing on Biden-era allegations of conservative censorship on Meta and Google.

• And there's bipartisan interest in ensuring tech companies make their products safer for kids.
• Conservative lawmakers largely used antitrust to harp on concerns about speech issues, and that's no longer as pressing given the way companies have shifted under Trump.

The other side: "The FTC is proud to stand side by side with President Trump and his agenda of keeping the United States a tech leader, particularly in innovative and exciting sectors such as AI," FTC spokesperson Joe Simonson told Axios.

• "We are also proud of our record of providing regulatory clarity to the market while making sure lawbreakers are held accountable — no matter how big or small."
• The DOJ and the White House did not respond to requests for comment.

Zoom in: For a concrete sign of the crumbling right-left populist anti-Big Tech alliance, just take a look at former FTC chair Lina Khan and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon.

• In April, Bannon called Khan "one of the more important political figures in this country" and the pair took a friendly picture together.
• Now, Khan is one of NYC mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani's transition chairs, and Bannon on Wednesday called for the Department of Homeland Security to investigate whether Mamdani, a U.S. citizen born in Uganda, is in the country legally.

Left-leaning, antimonopoly groups that once had a sympathetic ear among some Republicans say MAGA antitrust enforcement is no longer viewed as important by people with power in this administration.

• "[Trump] has dropped any pretense of taking on Big Tech's power, as long as they don't cross him personally. So now he's wining and dining them and making deals with these top executives," said Nidhi Hegde, executive director at the American Economic Liberties Project.
• "That is setting the tone and the messaging is coming straight from the White House, so any sort of enforcement efforts are drowned out that might come from any anti-monopoly moment on the right."

Douglas Farrar, an FTC official under former President Joe Biden, said that "right now it looks like the MAGA populists have lost their ability to influence Trump's policy agenda."

• "Trump campaigned on breaking up Big Tech monopolies, but his executive order is telling the FTC to serve as a concierge for AI companies consolidating the space," Farrar said.

The bottom line: The shaky right-left coalition pushing for antitrust action against Big Tech has fallen apart in the face of the Trump administration's AI push.