Trump says US has tools to keep AI safe, calls concerns conspiracy

President Donald Trump declared on Truth Social that the United States already possesses “tremendous CRIMINAL and REGULATORY power” over AI companies, pushing back against a growing chorus of industry leaders calling for the brakes to be pumped on frontier AI development.

In the same post, Trump labeled the rising tide of AI safety concerns a “SICK conspiracy against AI and Data Centers.”

What set this off

The immediate catalyst was Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who publicly called for a slower pace of AI development. Amodei’s appeal wasn’t made in a vacuum. It followed the resignation of Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon, who warned of potential catastrophic risks tied to the company’s AI advancements.

Amodei’s position then picked up endorsements from two of the most prominent names in the industry: OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Elon Musk. AI-related stocks declined globally after the trio’s public alignment on the need for caution.

The administration’s track record

Trump’s claim that existing tools are sufficient isn’t purely theoretical bluster. His administration has already taken direct action against Anthropic, imposing restrictions on certain AI models that it labeled security risks.

The distinction matters because targeted enforcement and comprehensive regulation are very different animals. Targeted action lets the executive branch pick winners and losers. Comprehensive frameworks set rules that apply to everyone equally.

What the markets are telling us

The global selloff in AI stocks following the Amodei-Altman-Musk alignment on safety concerns revealed something important about investor psychology in this sector. By dismissing safety concerns as conspiratorial and insisting the existing toolkit is adequate, Trump is effectively signaling to the market that his administration won’t be the source of friction.

The Anthropic situation is particularly illustrative. The company has positioned itself as the safety-conscious alternative in the AI race, and it’s now facing both targeted restrictions from the administration and public criticism from the president.

The lack of a clear regulatory framework means there’s no rulebook to consult. Any AI company could find itself on the wrong side of an enforcement decision with little warning.

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