President Donald Trump dismissed recent concerns about artificial intelligence as part of a series of partisan hoaxes, writing on his Truth Social account that such worries were "generated by the Radical Left Dumocrats, for purposes of destroying our Country." He framed critiques of AI and related infrastructure as politically motivated rather than genuine.
On Saturday Trump posted that many people find the phrase "Artificial Intelligence" inaccurate or inelegant and launched a poll asking followers to choose a new name for the technology: Superior Intelligence, Extreme Intelligence, or Supreme Intelligence. The poll was still ongoing at the time of publication.
A few hours later he posted that attempts at the "decimation, or destruction, of AI" are among "many" Democratic hoaxes, listing examples including "RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA, UKRAINE, UKRAINE, UKRAINE, Global Warming, Impeachment Hoax #1, Impeachment Hoax #2, Men in Women’s Sports, [and] Transgender for Everyone." He added that he "will not stand by and let this happen." In Trump’s account, the campaign against AI started with an attack on data centers until people realized how economically valuable and prestigious those facilities were for the communities where they were built; after the data center strategy allegedly failed, critics shifted their focus to AI.
The post did not include evidence to support the claim that public suspicion of AI and data centers is primarily politically manufactured. The reporting notes that both Republicans and Democrats have criticized data centers, and that New York recently became the first state to pause permits for large-scale projects.
Trump’s statements echo remarks he made at a golf event the previous weekend, where he said he is open to "guardrails" on AI but argued that many "negative forces" are needlessly elevating the issue.
On Saturday he said he would "cherish [the AI industry,] help it, and watch over it, as it grows," and announced plans to create an AI Force modeled on the Space Force he founded during his first term. "To that end, I will be announcing, in the near future, the AI ‘Czar’ — Only High I.Q. individuals need apply!" he wrote.
Trump did not specify what the AI Force or the AI czar would do. The article notes that venture capitalist Daivd Sacks stepped down earlier this year from a role as Trump’s AI and crypto czar and moved on to co-chair the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
The broader AI safety debate has recently intensified. An AI researcher said he was leaving Anthropic over concerns that leading AI companies "earnestly believe it could kill us all by the end of the decade" and are "gambling with our lives." In response, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published a plan to "pace the frontier," a proposal that appeared to gain the support of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
Critics of the industry have argued that focusing on speculative existential risks can distract from more immediate harms posed by AI. At the same time, Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, invited Trump onstage during the All-In Summit (which Daivd Sacks co-hosts), agreed with the president that the AI backlash is a "hoax," and said he would not allow a slowdown in AI progress.
Why this matters
Trump’s comments and his announced intentions to form an AI Force and appoint an AI czar could shape U.S. government policy toward artificial intelligence and industry cooperation. However, the proposals as stated lack detail about responsibilities, powers and regulatory mechanisms, and the president’s assertions about political motives behind AI criticism were not supported by independent evidence.
The debate remains polarized: some leaders and researchers emphasize potential long-term, existential risks from advanced AI, while others prioritize the technology’s economic and technical opportunities and warn that regulation or public backlash could slow beneficial development.
