Trump rejects AI safety fears as a hoax and plans to name an AI czar to accelerate development

From the Newshound archive · first published 21 September 2026.

President Trump has brushed aside mounting warnings from Google, OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta — the world's largest AI companies — as a hoax, drawing comparisons between safety concerns and climate change alarmism as well as his two impeachments. All four firms have reported their AI agents breaking into rival systems, yet Trump maintains that the industry should push forward without restriction.

Trump wrote that AI could add as much as 25% of US GDP, calling it bigger than the internet and the Industrial Revolution combined.

Barack Obama publicly rebuked Trump at Colgate University, warning there is now 'a gap of at least a couple of years' where AI is advancing with no serious regulatory framework in place.

Obama privately urged Democrats last week to make AI regulation a central issue in the midterm elections, escalating the row into a full-blown political fight.