United States

Washington, Tuesday, September 15, 2026. Following a flurry of messages on Truth Social, Donald Trump has hardened his stance against calls to slow down artificial intelligence. After an essay published on Saturday by Anthropic's CEO, Dario Amodei, calling to "take the leap of faith," joined by Sam Altman and Elon Musk, the president wrote on Monday that "the only control or 'safeguard' AI needs is a STRONG AND INTELLIGENT PRESIDENT (high IQ!), and the United States has one, and not just a little," reports Axios. He posted five messages on the subject on Monday, referring to himself as a "Hoax Buster," and repeated that the idea of AI "destroying the world" is a "hoax" and a "scam," according to CNBC.

The president also called in directly to the All-In Summit stage in Los Angeles, addressing Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang: "Robots are not going to take over. AI is not going to take over the rest of the world. All of this is a hoax," he said, according to Axios. Huang, however, took a more nuanced tone, praising the "great courage" of Anthropic's whistleblower Jacob Coxon, while rejecting doomsday predictions as "not scientifically grounded."

In Congress, the Republican divide is settling in. Senate Majority Leader John Thune stated that "Congress has a job to do," while advocating for a light-handed approach to "potentially consequential risks," reports Axios. House Speaker Mike Johnson is also open to regulation, "at the risk of incurring the president's wrath," according to Bloomberg. On the other side, Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries is calling to "slow down the pace of development" of AI. The Hill notes that Trump says he is "not downplaying" the risks, while dismissing any new law, as opposition to data centers grows in both red and blue states.

For Trump, the issue remains the competition with Beijing: "WHOEVER WINS AI, WINS! We are ahead of China, and everyone else, and we will continue," he wrote, according to Vox, while denouncing a "SINISTER conspiracy" against AI and data centers, which, in his view, only China would welcome. The Atlantic notes that AI has become a central issue in the midterm elections, as a summit with Xi Jinping is scheduled for next week at the White House.