Trump, Sanders, Altman Unite Around Public Ownership in AI

In a remarkable convergence of political and tech industry figures, President Donald Trump, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman have all expressed support for giving the American public a direct ownership stake in artificial intelligence companies. The rare bipartisan alignment signals a growing consensus that the economic benefits of AI should be broadly shared rather than concentrated among a small number of corporate shareholders, according to AP News.

The Emerging Consensus

The discussions center on creating a sovereign wealth fund or public wealth fund that would give American citizens a direct stake in AI-driven economic growth. While the three figures differ sharply on the specifics, their shared interest in public ownership marks a significant shift in the national conversation around AI governance.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Friday, Trump described a potential partnership “where the American people can benefit from the success of AI” and said executives from leading AI companies will visit the White House, “probably next week,” to discuss the idea. “There’s something very interesting about it, where it almost becomes a partnership with the American public,” Trump said, as reported by CNBC.

Sanders’ Bold Proposal

Senator Sanders has taken the most aggressive stance, unveiling the “American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act” on June 3. The legislation would impose a one-time 50% tax payable with stock of leading AI companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI, creating a public wealth fund with voting shares and board representation. According to Fox Business, Sanders argued that AI companies have “essentially stolen” the collective knowledge of humanity to build their models.

“Since AI is built on the collective knowledge of humanity, the wealth it generates must benefit humanity,” Sanders wrote in a New York Times op-ed. “No longer would the future of AI be dictated by a handful of Big Tech oligarchs.”

Altman’s Position and the OpenAI Talks

Sam Altman, who first pitched the government stake concept to Trump in early 2025, supports the general idea of public ownership but has not endorsed Sanders’ 50% threshold. The CEO met with Sanders for nearly an hour this week at the senator’s request, according to people familiar with the conversation. While Altman described the meeting as “great,” Sanders’ spokesperson Jeremy Slevin noted that “unfortunately, Sam Altman did not commit to any of those” points.

TechCrunch reported that the Trump administration and OpenAI have been in discussions for over a year about a possible government equity stake. As part of the potential agreement, OpenAI could donate equity to the U.S. government to seed a “Public Wealth Fund” that the company outlined in its April policy proposal. OpenAI is valued at over $850 billion by private investors and is preparing for an initial public offering as soon as this year.

A Precedent for Government Stakes

Trump has already embraced government investment in private companies during his second term, scrambling traditional Republican free-market orthodoxy. His administration last year secured a 10% stake in the struggling Silicon Valley company Intel, and it has taken stakes in IBM and other quantum and critical mineral companies. In February 2026, Trump signed an executive order calling for the establishment of a U.S. sovereign wealth fund.

Public Backlash and Bipartisan Concerns

The push for public ownership comes amid growing public anxiety about AI’s impact. According to a 2025 Harvard Institute of Politics poll, approximately 70% of college students see AI as a threat to their job prospects. Goldman Sachs data confirms that AI currently displaces a net 16,000 American jobs monthly. Data center projects across the country have drawn opposition from residents concerned about electricity demand, water consumption, and environmental impacts.

Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, a leading Republican skeptic of Big Tech, told AP News: “We need to pass legislation right now that says there’s not going to be any further data center development until they agree to pay for their own electricity, build their own grids and pay for their own water supply.”

The Spectrum of Proposals

The three figures represent a spectrum of approaches to public AI ownership. Sanders’ mandatory 50% government stake with board representation is the most aggressive. Trump’s voluntary partnership model, where companies cede some equity, remains vague on details. Altman supports the general concept, with OpenAI’s proposal suggesting a more modest approach focused on seeding a public wealth fund.

Not all reactions have been positive. David Sacks, who recently stepped down as Trump’s AI and crypto czar, warned that Sanders’ idea would “accelerate the corporate-government fusion we’re already sliding toward.” Former Microsoft employee Dare Obasanjo suggested on social media that “the groundwork is already being laid for a government bailout of OpenAI.”

What’s Next

Congress is also moving on AI regulation. Reps. Jay Obernolte (R-CA) and Lori Trahan (D-MA) released a bipartisan AI regulatory framework on June 4 that would establish the first broad federal approach to AI governance while temporarily preempting many state laws for three years, as reported by Nextgov/FCW. Meanwhile, Trump signed a national security AI directive on June 6 instructing federal national security organizations to accelerate AI adoption.

As the White House prepares to host AI executives next week and Sanders prepares to formally introduce his legislation, the coming months will determine whether this unlikely coalition can translate shared principles into concrete policy. Key questions remain: What specific percentage of equity is the Trump administration seeking? Will the public wealth fund be mandatory or voluntary? And how would government ownership interact with OpenAI’s planned IPO?

Altman himself acknowledged the complexity of the moment. “This is a real change to society,” he told reporters. “I think it’s possible both that people can use AI a lot and like using it and also have anxiety about what it’s going to do for the future.”