AI is generating a new wave of US populism. It could be a tipping point | Robert Reich

It’s becoming obvious to many Americans that corporations have been raking it in while workers take it on the chin Last week, the unlikely duo of Bernie Sanders and Steve Bannon both spoke before a Washington group demanding a stop to AI and its datacenters. The most potent force in US politics is anti-establishment fury at a system seen as rigged against average working people. AI has become Exhibit A. Until recently, both parties largely avoided criticizing the wealthy corporate elites that funded their campaigns. In politics as in nature, one does not bite the hands that feed. Trump Republicans have instead aimed populist fury at immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, Black and Latino people, “communists”, Muslims, so-called “woke” leaders, “coastal elites”, “childless cat ladies” and other scapegoats.

Democrats – with the exceptions of Bernie Sanders, AOC and a few others – have also avoided criticizing wealthy corporate elites, aiming their populist fury at Trump. It’s becoming obvious to much of the US that giant corporations have been raking it in while workers have been taking it on the chin. As of mid-2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the percentage of the total economy going to workers as wages had fallen to a record low