Trump dismisses AI alarms as a ‘HOAX’ — worrying White House officials

By Kevin Liptak, CNN

(CNN) — President Donald Trump on Monday all but rejected calls from AI industry leaders for more government regulation on their cutting-edge models, making clear he considers outpacing China a higher priority than addressing growing public concerns.

Across repeated posts about the issue Monday, Trump asserted that a “SICK conspiracy” was afoot to undermine AI and claimed his oversight alone was enough to prevent models from going rogue. He called concerns a “HOAX,” comparing the technology to the “Global Warming Scam” and the investigation of possible ties between his campaign and the Russian government. He also renewed his support for the data centers that power AI, despite their political unpopularity.

“The people that say AI is going to destroy the World, and that Data Centers are bad for your neighborhood, are the same people that said, just a short time ago, that the World would be extinguished by ‘Climate Change.’” Trump wrote. “That HOAX never worked out for them, and now they’re on to the next one.”

Others inside the administration, including Vice President JD Vance, cast doubt on the motivations that led executives, including Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, to call for more government oversight.

The stance has placed the White House at odds with growing public skepticism of AI and wedged vulnerable Republicans in a tough spot as they work to show voters they take the concerns seriously. Even some White House officials privately say they are worried about Trump’s apparent lack of concern about AI’s dangers — a position he’s held for months and has been seemingly unmoved by industry warnings.

Over four consecutive days, the president has continued to downplay the need for new safety checks. He said Monday the US already has “tremendous CRIMINAL and REGULATORY power over these companies!”

“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 wrote on Truth Social, where he frequently posts AI-generated images and videos of himself.

He said the administration had already prevented AI companies from doing “bad, or potentially bad, ‘things,’” and singled out Amodei for “now pretending to be a ‘perfect little angel.’”

Later Monday, Trump called Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who has been publicly skeptical about AI doomsday predictions, while the tech leader was speaking a summit in Los Angeles. After Huang put him on speakerphone for the crowd, Trump said he was genetically predisposed to understand the issue because his uncle taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

“I also have common sense about AI,” Trump added. “The robots will not be taking over. The AI will not be taking over the rest of the world. The whole thing is a hoax.”

Trump has long espoused the benefits of AI, and many industry leaders have contributed financially to some of his priority projects, including his inaugural fund and the ballroom he is building at the White House.

AI’s meteoric growth has also led to major stock market gains and buoyed the manufacturing sector through data center construction, both of which Trump points to as evidence of a strong economy under his watch. He called AI “the golden goose” in another social media post Monday.

Yet fears about the technology’s potential to eliminate jobs and AI data centers’ impact on communities have led to a souring in public sentiment. Recent warnings about security concerns have amplified calls for new guardrails.

Vance cast doubt on calls from industry executives for more AI regulation, warning it could amount to a “Trojan horse” by companies that could benefit from new restrictions.

“There are obvious risks to AI, there are some benefits to AI,” Vance told reporters at Joint Base Andrews. “I have to say, personally, I feel a little bit weird about the fact that you have so many frontier AI tech companies kind of coming to the government and begging the government to regulate them.”

Still, Vance acknowledged the new technology comes with risks and said he hopes the White House and Congress would work together to develop guardrails.

“I don’t think Americans should be scared of anything. I think we have to be mindful that there are risks, there are downsides to anything, and that’s certainly true of AI,” Vance said before boarding a plane for a campaign swing.

White House officials said there would likely be meetings set up this week with administration experts on AI and cybersecurity to discuss potential new regulations on the technology. House Speaker Mike Johnson, speaking Sunday, said he hoped to convene talks with Trump, lawmakers and AI executives to plot a path forward. He said Monday that meeting would probably occur in a week or two, though he cautioned against a rush for congressional action.

“There’ll be a deliberate discussion about the responsibility of the companies to maintain safety and what role, if any, the government has to play in that. But again, we do not want to jump in,” the Louisiana Republican said. “The reflex of legislative bodies is to cover things up with red tape and hyper-regulation. If you do that, then you lose your edge, and that is a national security concern for the American people.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune similarly said he believes there should be “guardrails” for AI to ensure safety but prefers a “light touch” from Washington so the US stays competitive with China.

A new effort was also underway among US officials to beef up planned discussions about AI with Chinese leader Xi Jinping when he travels to Washington for a state visit next week. Trump has been eagerly preparing for the occasion, including by finishing up renovation work on the North Portico and a new helipad on the South Lawn.

In one of his Monday social media posts, Trump claimed that Xi “announced that China will be doing absolutely nothing to stand in the way of AI, or its future.”

When the two men last met in Beijing in May, they discussed AI guardrails but produced limited results. Last week the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said the two leaders had agreed to set up an intergovernmental dialogue on AI.

This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.

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CNN’s Ellis Kim, Manu Raju and Ted Barrett contributed to this report.