Trump defends AI approach, criticizes Anthropic CEO and ‘conspiracy theorists’

President Trump defended his approach to AI on Monday, saying the only protections needed are a “STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT” amid calls for AI guardrails.

“The only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades!” he wrote on Truth Social. “The Trump Administration has stopped AI ‘people’ from doing bad, or potentially bad, ‘things.’”

“We already have tremendous CRIMINAL and REGULATORY power over these companies!” he continued. “There is a SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers, and the only one that is happy about it is China.”

Trump wrote that U.S. is “leading China, and all others, and will continue to do so.”

“Conspiracy Theorists, Treasonists, Traitors, and Leakers, BEWARE!” he wrote.

He specifically named Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei as an example of someone who has done “bad,” but he said he is “now pretending to be a ‘perfect little angel.’”

Amodei has recently said AI development should slow down to allow for guardrails to be implemented.

“To be clear, pacing does not mean halting model training or technical progress, but ensuring companies take adequate time to align and safeguard their models, and for third party evaluators to confirm this,” Amodei wrote in a blog post over the weekend. “Our pacing framework is an attempt to further strengthen our commitment to safety and encourage a race to the top.”

The president has repeatedly downplayed calls for an AI slowdown and more guardrails from industry leaders and those across the political aisle.

“We can put guardrails, we can do this and that, but I think you have a lot of negative forces that are bringing it up that … shouldn’t be bringing it up, and they’re bringing up things that won’t happen,” Trump told reporters over the weekend.

Trump and his allies argue that the U.S. must win the AI race against China.

“I said it from the very beginning … whoever wins AI wins,” he said.

But the public and lawmakers in both parties appear to be growing more concerned about AI. Their worries run the gamut from how AI could affect the economy and eliminate jobs, to its potential threats to humanity.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) on Monday called for a classified briefing on the dangers of AI.

Lawmakers in both parties also have raised concerns about AI data centers, which Trump has repeatedly defended.