Trump Says US Already Has The Power To Rein In AI Firms – ‘There Is A Sick Conspiracy Going On Against AI And Data Centers’

• Trump said the U.S. already has substantial criminal and regulatory authority over AI companies.
• Amodei said AI risks include losing control of systems, misuse for cyberattacks and bioterrorism, and serious economic disruption.
• China rejected Amodei’s push to restrict its AI development and called for cooperation rather than confrontation.

U.S. President Donald Trump pushed back against calls for additional artificial intelligence (AI) guardrails on Monday, arguing that Washington already has sufficient enforcement authority over AI companies. Trump warned that restrictions on AI and data-center development could strengthen China’s competitive position.

In his Truth Social post, Trump directly referenced Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and said his administration had already acted to stop AI companies from pursuing what it viewed as potentially harmful activity. He added that the U.S. already has substantial criminal and regulatory authority over the industry.

“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.” Trump stated in his post.

Elon Musk Joins Amodei And Sam Altman

This comes after Amodei, in an essay titled “We Must Pace the Frontier,” said AI risks include losing control of systems, misuse for cyberattacks and bioterrorism, and serious economic disruption. He stressed that “pacing” does not mean halting model training or technical progress.

Amodei argued that rapid capability gains could increase risks including loss of control over AI systems, cyberattacks, bioterrorism and economic disruption. His proposal also calls for coordination among frontier AI developers and eventually governments.

The debate has broadened beyond Anthropic. Tesla Inc. (TSLA) and xAI CEO Elon Musk publicly backed Amodei’s position, saying “Dario is right”. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has also supported the need to “pace the frontier”.

Meanwhile, Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora questioned the motives behind the AI “pacing” push, while warning that today’s models can favor attackers in cyber and that fragmented regulation could complicate AI security.

China Pushes Back on AI Safety Risks

Beijing challenged a different part of Amodei’s argument: his call to maintain restrictions on China’s access to advanced AI technology. China’s Foreign Ministry said AI development should emphasize international cooperation over confrontation, while rejecting attempts to curb China’s technological development. 

Chinese state-backed newspaper Global Times described Amodei’s approach as reflecting a “Cold War” mentality and arguing that restricting China could make global AI governance harder, not safer.

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