Utah Governor Spencer Cox, a Republican with a reputation for moderation and a penchant for straight talk, has found himself at the center of a national conversation about the dangers of social media, the unchecked power of Big Tech, and the looming influence of artificial intelligence (AI) on American society. While Cox continues to insist he has no interest in running for president in 2028, his crusade against Silicon Valley has made him a focal point for those concerned about the impact of technology on children, communities, and democracy itself.
According to a December 15, 2025, Politico column by Jonathan Martin, public calls for Cox to enter the 2028 presidential race have reached the highest circles of national politics. Martin, who has chronicled past presidential elections and serves as Politico's politics bureau chief, devoted his weekly column to persuading the Utah governor to reconsider his repeated denials. Martin argued that, in an era when few major political figures are willing to confront the negative consequences of social media and AI, Cox’s willingness to take on these issues head-on sets him apart.
“If you want to be angry at someone, be angry at the social media companies. These are the wealthiest and most powerful companies in the history of the world, and they’re profiting off of destroying our kids and destroying our country, and they know it, and it’s very intentional,” Cox declared at a recent event at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., alongside Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, as reported by Politico and the Daily Caller.
Cox’s stance is not just rhetorical. Since taking office in 2021, he has become one of the nation’s most outspoken elected officials on the issue of social media’s impact on youth. He has launched lawsuits against tech giants, including a high-profile case against Snapchat, which Utah alleges engages in “illicit business practices that are akin to peddling digital nicotine to kids.” In 2023, Cox signed a suite of first-in-the-nation bills: prohibiting minors from using social media during restricted hours, requiring parental consent for minors to open social media accounts, and granting parents the right to view all of their children’s posts. He also signed legislation banning cell phones in Utah classrooms and is considering a "sin tax" on tech products, modeled after taxes on alcohol and tobacco.
The governor’s tone has grown only more forceful in recent months, particularly after the tragic assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University in September 2025. Kirk, who was speaking at his “American Comeback Tour,” was shot and killed during the event, sending shockwaves through the political world. Cox, visibly emotional, addressed the press at the university, becoming the public face of the investigation into the alleged killer, Tyler Robinson. Cox has maintained that Robinson was radicalized, at least in part, by social media. In the days following the tragedy, Cox didn’t mince words, calling social media “a cancer on our society,” and urging Americans to “log off, turn off, touch grass. Hug a family member. Get out and do good in your community.”
His advocacy has gone international. During a trade mission to Australia in October 2025, Cox worked with lawmakers on a framework to ban cellphone use in schools and to potentially prohibit social media use for anyone under the age of 16—mirroring policies being considered or enacted in other countries. He has reiterated this restrictive approach at national forums, most recently alongside Governor Shapiro in Washington, D.C.
Despite the groundswell of support for a presidential run, Cox has remained steadfast in his refusal. During a televised news conference in November 2025, he stated, “I have no interest in running for president.” When pressed again at the National Cathedral event about a possible bid, Cox quipped, “One of us is not,” referring to himself and Shapiro. On December 15, 2025, Cox responded to Martin’s column with a pair of memes posted to X (formerly Twitter): one featuring actor Jonah Hill shaking his head, and another of former President Donald Trump saying, “Nope, absolutely not.”
Yet the pressure continues to mount, in part because Cox’s opposition to Big Tech has struck a chord across the political spectrum. Other Republicans, such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Rep. Thomas Massie, and Sen. Josh Hawley, have also voiced concerns about the proliferation of AI data centers and their impact on rural communities. As the Daily Caller noted, these voices are becoming increasingly prominent, with DeSantis in particular ramping up his populist, anti-tech rhetoric, potentially positioning himself for a showdown with Vice President JD Vance, who has defended the administration’s hands-off approach to tech, crypto, and AI regulation.
The stakes are high. The U.S. government’s current push for AI infrastructure has been likened to nation-defining projects such as the New Deal or post-Civil War Reconstruction. As Martin wrote in Politico, “As concern over algorithms gives way to panic over artificial intelligence, it’s clear every candidate will need an answer on what’s poised to reshape education, the economy, geopolitics, warfare and, oh, most every other facet of American life.”
As chair of the Western Governors’ Association, Cox has seized the opportunity to direct the national conversation toward state policies that can help Americans navigate the coming AI revolution. He has proposed incentives for companies that develop “pro-human AI” systems, hoping to steer technological development in a direction that prioritizes human well-being over profit and automation. This stands in contrast to the approach taken by President Donald Trump, who recently signed an executive order blocking state-level AI regulations, arguing that such rules would stifle innovation and the success of U.S. companies in the global tech race.
Martin, for his part, acknowledged that Cox “would be a long shot for the GOP nomination, to put it charitably.” But he contended that the Utah governor’s candidacy would force the debate over technology and AI regulation into the heart of the 2028 election. “As with other cause candidates, the Utahn would find himself bathed in media attention, the longshot-with-a-slingshot David confronting the market-cap Goliaths of our time,” Martin wrote.
For now, Cox seems content to wield his influence from his current perch, leveraging Utah’s laws as a model and using his national profile to challenge both his own party and the tech titans of Silicon Valley. But as the debate over tech regulation heats up and as concerns about AI’s impact on society intensify, the governor’s voice is likely to remain a significant—and perhaps pivotal—part of America’s ongoing reckoning with the digital age.
In a political era defined by polarization and technological upheaval, Cox’s brand of righteous indignation and policy innovation continues to resonate, even as he insists he’s not aiming for the White House. Whether or not he changes his mind, the issues he’s elevated aren’t going away anytime soon.
