TRUMP KILLED HIS OWN AI SECURITY ORDER HOURS BEFORE THE SIGNING — MUSK AND ZUCKERBERG MADE CALLS THE NIGHT BEFORE President Trump scrapped a landmark AI cybersecurity executive order hours before its scheduled signing ceremony last week, citing concerns that the language would interfere with American AI development. The order would have required the Office of the National Cyber Director and federal agencies to evaluate AI models for security vulnerabilities before their public release, a process advocates called the minimum necessary safeguard for a technology being rapidly deployed in critical infrastructure. Trump told reporters he didn’t like certain aspects of it and didn’t want to get in the way of AI progress. What went unsaid was the reported behind-the-scenes pressure: Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and AI czar David Sacks all reportedly called the White House in the window between Wednesday night and Thursday morning. The ceremony was scrapped on short notice, leaving invited guests with no event to attend. The episode crystallizes a tension that has defined AI governance in Washington for two years. The White House spent 2025 dismantling Biden-era AI safety requirements, and this incident suggests that even modest security-focused proposals face extraordinary lobbying pressure from the companies with the most to lose from regulatory friction. The order may be revised and resubmitted. Or it may quietly disappear. In Washington, the second option happens more often. Keywords: Trump AI executive order delayed, AI regulation White House, AI cybersecurity policy, Musk Zuckerberg AI lobbying