Trump Attacks Anthropic CEO, Rejects AI Doomsday Warnings

Nvidia is the dominant supplier of chips used to train and run generative AI, giving Chief Executive Jensen Huang an influential voice in the debate over how quickly the technology should advance. The dispute carries implications for US data-center investment, competition with China and AI safety. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei intensified the debate on Sept. 12, 2026, by urging developers to “pace the frontier,” warning that AI-agent swarms could take over the internet within six to 12 months unless safeguards catch up.

On Sept. 14, Huang took a call from President Donald Trump while addressing thousands at the All-In Summit in Los Angeles and put him on speakerphone. Trump dismissed fears of AI taking over the world as a “hoax,” said robots would not seize control and described data centers as “the oil of the next 20, 25 years.” Huang told Trump, “we’re not going to let that happen,” referring to a slowdown, and said Nvidia would work to ensure the United States wins the AI race.

Anthropic signed a contract worth up to $200 million with the US Department of Defense in July 2025 to integrate Claude into military systems. The two sides later fell out over restrictions on the use of Claude for autonomous weapons and mass surveillance of Americans. The dispute raises questions about government procurement authority, corporate free-speech rights and the safety boundaries of military AI.

The Defense Department formally designated Anthropic a “supply chain risk” on March 5. On March 9, the company filed separate lawsuits in federal court in California and the US Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. Judge Rita Lin suspended the designation and Claude ban on March 26. The D.C. court declined to stay the designation on April 8, and oral arguments concluded on May 19.