Washington — President Trump on Thursday said he delayed the signing of an executive order on artificial intelligence expected that afternoon because he doesn’t want to “get in the way” of the United States leading the world in the development and advancement of AI. 

The president was expected to sign an executive order Thursday afternoon concerning the federal government’s approach to AI, building on the administration’s efforts in championing AI advancement in the U.S. But early Thursday afternoon, the president told reporters in an unrelated Oval Office event that he is postponing that signing, saying he wants the U.S. to remain as competitive as possible.

“Because I didn’t like certain aspects of it, I postponed it,” Mr. Trump said when asked about the delay after a reporter for Punchbowl posted the news on X. “I think it gets in the way of, you know, we’re leading China, we’re leading everybody, and I don’t want to do anything that’s going to get in the way of that lead.”

The president said AI is causing “tremendous good” and claimed it is creating many jobs in the U.S. “I really thought that could have been a blocker, and I want to make sure that it’s not,” he added. 

“I postponed that meeting, it was a press conference, it was a signing, actually,” he said. “Because I didn’t like what I was seeing.” 

It’s not clear what specific provisions in the executive order draft Mr. Trump feels would have potentially stifled that progress.

Earlier Thursday, a source familiar with the draft executive order told WTX US News the current order included language to secure Pentagon systems, secure federal civilian systems and promote the use of AI tools. It also called for a voluntary framework with AI developers to engage the federal government over the release of covered models, including pre-public access to select technology.