Look, we don't get political on AP too often, but when the sitting President of the United States tweets about not only 5G, but 6G - it's pretty hard not to talk about it. Donald Trump tweeted this morning that he wants America to lead in 5G and 6G technology, which is all very funny, because it is very obvious the President doesn't know almost anything about either. (This largely being because by the time 6G is even in its infancy, we will probably be nearly a decade removed from a hypothetical second Trump term).

It's unclear what prompted the President - who is a very busy man - to tweet about The 5G and 6G, which are, in the President's words, part of "the very exciting world of technology." It's possible he sporadically tuned in to a briefing this morning related to the upcoming Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week, as it will feature many of the first large-scale demos of 5G by network operators and vendors. It's the kind of thing the US has a national security interest in, because we don't want China spying on all of our five gees.

I want 5G, and even 6G, technology in the United States as soon as possible. It is far more powerful, faster, and smarter than the current standard. American companies must step up their efforts, or get left behind. There is no reason that we should be lagging behind on......... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 21, 2019

....something that is so obviously the future. I want the United States to win through competition, not by blocking out currently more advanced technologies. We must always be the leader in everything we do, especially when it comes to the very exciting world of technology! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 21, 2019

The President also implicitly relayed his understanding that America is not a "leader" in 5G, which is actually weird and not really true! Qualcomm, an American company, has largely spearheaded the development of 5G smartphones, and well ahead of its competitors. But specifically, Trump says "I want the United States to win through competition, not by blocking out currently more advanced technologies." This would probably relate to advice from Congress and his national security team on the subject of Huawei and ZTE, who are positioned to be global leaders in the deployment of 5G network equipment. It sounds, perhaps, like the President may not be the biggest fan of keeping either company out of the country by "blocking" them, as was rumored would happen last year, then again a month ago, via executive order.

That executive order has not materialized, and we know Trump is in the midst of trade talks with China - perhaps meaning ZTE and Huawei are on the table as some kind of leverage. Or, maybe Fox News did a thing about 5G this morning. I don't really know - can't say I was watching!

And while we can rest assured that Donald Trump cannot tell you anything about 5G that your grandma who heard about it on the local news can't, we know something about our temperamental President: He really doesn't like being told what to do.

Punishing Huawei and ZTE has been a high priority for the US Congress and the intelligence community because of long-standing beliefs that network equipment from the two could be leveraged by the Chinese government for spying, hacking, and digital warfare. No proof has yet been found of this (and even if it's there, that proof could be extremely hard to find), but a long history of state-sponsored hacking of US companies and government entities by China has made some members of our government understandably paranoid about using Chinese network equipment. The President, however, hasn't been nearly as outspoken on the subject.

As with all things in this administration, it's impossible to know if this was just the passing thought of a very easily distracted man, or a preview of upcoming policy announcements. Isn't that fun, we get to be in suspense! It's like it's all just a fun reality TV show.