Abstract:
Just now, Trump revealed that he had threatened to arrest the CEO of an AI giant because he had done some bad things with AI, and it might have been malicious. Who is he talking about? The answer is already coming out. At the beginning of the year, Trump threatened "criminal consequences" for him. In September, he publicly named "I have stopped him from doing bad things." In addition, Trump also privately admitted that "a week ago I thought he was a national security threat."
Trump’s attitude towards this company has been a roller coaster ride.
What exactly is going on?
The trigger in February: a conflict caused by “rejection”
In February 2026, Anthropic's Claude has been used in classified operations.
The higher authorities want to further liberalize restrictions - allowing AI to be used for lethal weapons or mass surveillance.
But Amodei refused.
He insisted on the company's "red line": it should never be used for unsupervised lethal weapons and it should never be used for mass surveillance.
At this time, Trump was completely angry.
Around February 27, Trump posted directly on Truth Social, targeting Anthropic.
I instruct every federal agency in the U.S. government to immediately stop using all Anthropic technology!
We don't need it, we don't want it, and we will never do business with them again!
He gave a six-month transition period and said harsh words:
It is best for Anthropic to be aware of the situation and actively cooperate during the transition period. Otherwise, I will use the full power of the President to bring them into compliance, with significant civil and criminal consequences that will ensue.
Good guys, major criminal consequences. It sounds scary.
The Pentagon immediately classified Anthropic as a "supply chain risk."
Previously, this label was reserved for competitors.
Anthropic is on the list, which is considered the first time in history.
Later, Amodei complained like this in an internal memo——
The government doesn’t like us because we didn’t donate money to Trump, nor did we “authoritarian praise” like other companies.
After this, there were consequences.
Later, Anthropic clearly warned investors in its IPO documents that the company might suffer targeted retaliation from the government because of its stance on AI security.
Why does Trump regard AI security as a “hoax”
Why would Trump be so cruel to a company that calls for "AI safety"?
In the latest interview with "60 Minutes", Trump himself gave the answer.
He really didn't give any face, and ruthlessly mocked the Silicon Valley elite.
During the interview, the host asked: Will AI threaten the future of mankind?
Trump said unabashedly that there are only two parties in the world engaged in real SI competition.
“I called all those AI tycoons to the White House,” Trump said mockingly.
The host was extremely confused: "These people working on AI are so weird, so weird. They actually stood outside their company and said: 'Hey, we created this incredible company, but there is a 10% chance that it will kill all mankind!'"
“It’s like standing in front of a new hotel and shouting to everyone: ‘This is my new hotel, but it might collapse!’
In Trump's eyes, the so-called "AI destroys humanity" is a "hoax" that hinders his progress.
With the next sentence, he suddenly shattered the illusion of safety.
"You ask me why I am not worried about doomsday panic? Because others will have this technology! If we get on the so-called guardrails, we will be at an absolute disadvantage. Others do not have these guardrails... If AI is dangerous, it is winner-take-all!"
Amodei: From "Perfect Little Angel" to "Sick Conspiracy"
Just in September this year, the AI industry fell into a "slowdown wave."
Amodei published a long article publicly calling on major laboratories to slow down the development of the most advanced AI so that security measures can keep up.
What’s even more dramatic is that OpenAI’s Ultraman and Musk actually support it.
Trump is outraged again
On September 14, he posted a series of posts to blast the public.
“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 huge criminal and regulatory powers against these companies!"
"A pathological conspiracy is taking place against AI and data centers, and the only ones who are happy are the competitors. Whoever wins AI wins! Conspiracy theorists, traitors, traitors, leakers, be careful!"
In Trump's view, AI is the key to the United States winning the future, and any slowdown is detrimental to the United States.
In his eyes, the real "guardrail" is "a strong and smart (high IQ!) President of the United States."
So, what happened to Amodei?
Interestingly, the two did not end in a break.
At the end of September, Trump also had a private dinner with Amodei.
Afterwards, Trump told the media that he liked Amodei and his wife very much and thought the other was "very smart", but it was different from what he expected.
The two parties later participated in the signing of the "Super Intelligence Security Agreement" organized by the White House.
The relationship seems to have returned to a delicate balance.
However, when the most powerful person in the world can publicly hint that "if you play with fire again you will go to jail," AI is no longer a technology issue, but a power issue.
It's all about power.
Reference materials:
https://www.reddit.com/r/singularity/comments/1xrhqeh/trump_claims_that_he_threatened_to_arrest_a_major/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JklRXlv69t4
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