'Whoever wins AI, wins!' Trump warns 'traitors and leakers' to 'beware' and claims the 'conspiracy' against AI and data centers will only benefit China

A stalemate ahead?

News By Lance Ulanoff Published 14 September 2026

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AI companies are now aligned: there is a non-zero chance that AI could somehow end humanity. It's not a probable future, but there's enough uncertainty that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, among others, agree that some slowdown and oversight in AI development is in order. Who vociferously doesn't agree? US President Donald Trump.

As the global freakout grows over AI's sometimes shocking ability to do things its makers never intended, Trump took to his Truth Social media platform to warn against AI guardrails.

"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! The Trump Administration has stopped AI “people” from doing bad, or potentially bad, “things,“ like Dario (Anthropic!), who is now pretending to be a “perfect little angel” - and we will continue to do so! We already have tremendous CRIMINAL and REGULATORY power over these companies! There is a SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers, and the only one that is happy about it is China. WHOEVER WINS AI, WINS! We are leading China, and all others, and will continue to do so. Conspiracy Theorists, Treasonists, Traitors, and Leakers, BEWARE!"

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Aside from the dubious protection of his "High IQ!" Trump claims the US has AI regulation when it does not. Yes, there is a patchwork of proposed AI regulation proposals across the country's 50 states, but there is no federal-level regulation.

The President also conflates growing and very real concerns over data center development with humanity-ending AI anxiety. While AI model development and use is limited by Data Center growth, how AI works, and all the ways potential misalignment (when the action does not align with the original intent or best interests of people) could lead to harm is a different thing and more closely associated with regulation and oversight.

Dario Amodei receives specific mention because the White House tried unsuccessfully to label his company, Anthropic, a national security supply chain risk after it refused to let its models be used for military and mass surveillance. Trump's distaste for Anthropic and Amodei remains.

Meanwhile, watchdog groups continue to call for regulation, and they've made it clear they don't trust tech companies to do the job, even with promised embedded non-employee evaluators.

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