‘I am the Hoax Buster’: Trump escalates his attack on AI safety warnings

Donald Trump has called fears about AI a “HOAX” in a string of Truth Social posts. The US president also asked why AI industry leaders want to be regulated. The posts came a day after his remarks in Ireland, where he called people asking to slow AI down a negative force.

“Concerning AI, when, in the History of Business, did anyone see the Leaders of an Industry call for Regulation that, if strongly implemented, will drive them into oblivion and bankruptcy?” Trump wrote on Monday, 14 September.

In the same post, he said fears of AI “destroying Humanity” were a hoax. He compared them to the Russia investigation, Ukraine, and his two impeachments.

What Trump wrote

That post also made claims about China and Google. Trump wrote that Chinese President Xi Jinping had “just announced” that China would do nothing to stand in the way of AI. He did not say where Xi said this.

Trump also wrote that Google wants to build “a massive Plant in Finland” because permitting is too difficult in the US. “I am not happy about this, and want them to change their thinking,” he added.

Google said last week that it would invest €13bn in four Finnish data centre sites. Trump did not cite a Google statement for his claim about permitting.

He called AI and data centres “the Greatest Economic Development Engine in History”. He wrote that they would be bigger than oil, gold, diamonds, or the internet, and would not be stopped during his term.

In a later post, Trump linked AI warnings to climate change warnings. He said the same people were behind both, and called them “Revolutionaries for a Bad and Evil Cause”. “Soon you’ll find out they’re working for people that do not have the best interests of the United States in mind!” he wrote.

Three more posts followed that evening. In the first, Trump called himself “the Hoax Buster”. He mocked the idea of robots “marching into our Cities”.

In the second, he again called the claim that AI will take over the world a hoax. He said the people behind it were “Radical Left Dumocrats, who never give up, but seldom win.” In the third, he compared the “AI Hoax” to what he called “their Global Warming Scam”.

Earlier posts and Amodei

Earlier on Monday, Trump wrote that AI’s only “guardrails” should be “a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT”, Politico reported. He also described a “SICK conspiracy” against AI and data centres. China was the only one happy about it, he wrote.

Trump also named Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei. He wrote that Amodei was now pretending to be “a ‘perfect little angel’”, Business Insider reported. One post ended with a warning to “Conspiracy Theorists, Treasonists, Traitors, and Leakers”.

Over the weekend, Amodei called for the industry to slow down in an essay. Elon Musk and OpenAI’s Sam Altman backed the call. Anthropic did not immediately respond to Politico or Business Insider.

The administration and Anthropic have clashed before. The Pentagon blacklisted the company after a contract dispute. A federal judge later struck down the blacklist. This month, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Axios that the administration trusts Anthropic, Business Insider reported.

On Monday, Trump also phoned Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang, who was on stage at the All-In Summit. On the call, Trump again called AI fears a hoax.

Vance and Johnson

Vice President JD Vance spoke to reporters on Monday. He said he felt “a little bit weird” about AI companies asking to be regulated. “It feels a little bit to me like a bit of a Trojan horse,” he said, according to Politico. Americans should be mindful of the risks, but not scared, he added.

House Speaker Mike Johnson echoed the president on Tuesday. “What the president is saying is, you’re not all going to be dead in 10 years. That’s a hoax,” he said, Courthouse News reported.

Johnson said AI companies must make safe products and can regulate themselves. He opposed a moratorium on AI development, saying the US would lose its edge to China. He also plans to meet the heads of the major AI labs.

Democrats and Congress

Democrats criticised the posts. Senator Chris Coons said Trump’s attacks on Americans worried about AI showed he does not understand the moment, Politico reported. Coons called for Congress to act.

Senator Ted Cruz chairs the Senate Commerce Committee. He may hold a markup on AI bills this month, according to Politico. One is a bill on biological and nuclear threats that he is drafting with Senators Amy Klobuchar and John Thune.

A University of Massachusetts Amherst poll was published on Monday. It found that 57% of Americans are unhappy with Trump’s handling of AI, and 23% are in favour, The Independent reported.