A number of Donald Trump supporters and vaccine skeptics have criticized the president after he talked up multibillion-dollar artificial intelligence infrastructure project, which, it was suggested, could help develop vaccines for cancer.
Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment via email outside of regular working hours.
Why It Matters
When it comes to vaccines, Trump has appeared to find himself between a rock and a hard place. He has faced frequent backlash from his own supporters for expressing support for the COVID-19 vaccine, especially when he praised the Operation Warp Speed initiative he launched during the pandemic, which accelerated vaccine development. And yet, he has recently nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr, a vaccine skeptic, to lead the government’s health agencies.
President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on January 21, 2025 in Washington, D.C. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on January 21, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Getty Images/Andrew Harnik
What To Know
Trump announced a joint venture between OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank, which will be called Stargate, during a press conference on Tuesday. The project, which could cost up to $500 billion, was described by Trump as the “largest AI infrastructure project in history.”
The president said the project will result in “over 100,000 American jobs almost immediately.”
Stargate will start building data centers and the electricity generation needed for AI development in Texas, according to the White House.
Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison highlighted the potential medical benefits of the investment, stating that AI could be used to detect cancers and customize mRNA vaccines to treat them within 48 hours.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also praised the initiative, calling it “the most important project of this era” and saying the companies “wouldn’t be able to do this” without Trump’s help.
The AI project has faced backlash from some Trump supporters and vaccine skeptics on social media.
In December 2021, Trump was booed by a section of the crowd after revealing he had received a COVID-19 booster shot while on stage at a speaking event with former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly.
An mRNA vaccine uses a molecule called messenger RNA (mRNA) to instruct cells in the body to produce a protein. This response helps the immune system recognize the protein as a foreign body and starts to produce antibodies to attack it and protect against future exposures. Some have been skeptical about mRNA vaccines, which were used for COVID-19, over false and misleading claims they alter DNA or cause infertility.
What People Are Saying
Trump supporter @sovereignbrah posted on X, formerly Twitter: “Donald Trump will lose his base if he supports more mRNA vaccines. Mark my words.”
Chiropractor Ben Tapper, a vaccine skeptic, posted on X: “Get me off the planet. Second day in office and he’s pushing a cancer vaccine? Are you kidding me? Make no mistake. This will cause more harm than good. Health doesn’t come from a needle.”
Pro-Trump X account J D Ebberly posted on X: “No one will ever be able to convince me to take any kind of mRNA shot. I would rather die from the Black Death, than take an mRNA shot. Trump is pushing mRNA vaccines. Well, I guess there will be NO golden age. The dems aren’t the only people lying to us.”
Right-wing political commentator Evan Kilgore posted on X: “The ‘mRNA cancer vaccines’ discussed at Donald Trump’s first press conference tonight were a BIG turn off for a lot of Right-Wingers. The Trump Administration must learn that his base largely DESPISES him for Operation Warp Speed and how heavily experimental vaccines were pushed.”
Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison said during Tuesday’s press conference: “Using AI, you can do early cancer detection with a blood test and using AI to look at the blood test, you can find the cancers that are actually seriously threatening the person. Once we gene sequence that cancer tumor, you can design a vaccine for every individual person to vaccinate them against that cancer. And you can make that vaccine, that mRNA vaccine robotically, again, using AI, in about 48 hours.
“So imagine early cancer detection, the development of a cancer vaccine for your particular cancer aimed at you, and have had that vaccine available in 48 hours. This is the promise of AI and the promise of the future.”
President Donald Trump said at Tuesday’s press conference: “This monumental undertaking is a resounding declaration of confidence in America’s potential.”
What Happens Next
The Stargate project will launch with an initial investment of $100 billion, with plans to expand to $500 billion over the next four years.
The first data center under the initiative will be built in Texas, with additional expansions planned for other states.
