Trump Attacks Anthropic CEO Over Call to Slow AI Development

President Donald Trump attacked Anthropic PBC Chief Executive Officer Dario Amodei for urging a slowdown in artificial intelligence development, intensifying his opposition to new guardrails for the technology.

In a Monday social media post, Trump blamed a “SICK conspiracy” for voter backlash on AI data centers and increased concern about frontier models and added that “the only one that is happy about it is China.”

“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!” Trump posted. “We are leading China, and all others, and will continue to do so. Conspiracy Theorists, Treasonists, Traitors, and Leakers, BEWARE!”

Trump’s comments went a step further from remarks he made over the weekend, when he acknowledged the need for some regulation. The president, however, has consistently dismissed warnings about AI safety risks and has emphasized the importance of developing the technology to stay ahead of China.

The president spoke days after Amodei said the industry should tap the brakes on developing the most advanced models in order for companies to better understand potential dangers. Other AI industry leaders, including OpenAI’s Sam Altman and SpaceXAI’s Elon Musk, concurred with Amodei’s calls for a slowdown.

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That puts an industry that Trump has relied on an as an engine of economic growth directly at odds with the Republican president. He has made speeding nationwide adoption of AI the centerpiece of his policy agenda. His administration has laid out a largely hands-off approach to AI regulation, codified in an order he signed in early June.

Trump and his team have repeatedly sparred with Anthropic and Amodei over the past few months, with the Defense Department deeming the company a supply-chain risk after it demanded restrictions on military use of its tools.