Trump Defends Anthropic Blacklist, Claims US Leads AI Race

Trump Points to Anthropic Ban as Evidence of AI Oversight

President Donald Trump defended his administration's handling of artificial intelligence regulation in a Friday interview with FOX News, citing the government's blacklisting of AI company Anthropic as evidence that Washington has appropriate safeguards in place.

When asked about measures to ensure the US wins the AI competition with China while addressing public concerns about data centers, Trump pointed to Anthropic's case. "They did something that was very bad. Three months ago. And we shut them down. We shut them down fast," he said.

The Trump administration designated Anthropic a security risk earlier this year and prohibited the company from working with federal agencies. However, a federal judge ruled late last month that the blacklisting was illegal, according to Anadolu Agency, which first reported Trump's comments.

US-China AI Competition Takes Center Stage

Trump characterized the regulatory approaches of the two nations in stark terms. He argued that while the US has institutional guardrails, China's AI oversight depends entirely on President Xi Jinping. "China doesn't have guardrails, by the way … President Xi is the guardrail. I mean, you can do anything in China," Trump said.

The president also suggested that effective AI regulation requires exceptional intelligence, stating: "We have guardrails. The biggest guardrails are having people that are just as smart because nobody understands it except you have to be extremely high IQ."

Trump asserted that America currently leads in the technological competition: "We are competing with China. As you know, we are winning. You know we are winning against China with respect to AI."

Stakes Described in Historical Terms

The president framed AI's potential impact in sweeping historical context, calling it "bigger than the internet" and "probably" bigger than the Industrial Revolution. "It could be, and we'll know in about a year, it could be the biggest thing of all. And it's mostly for the good," he said.

Why It Matters

The interview reveals the administration's willingness to use aggressive regulatory action against AI companies despite legal challenges, while positioning the US-China AI competition as a defining technological contest. The comments come as federal courts push back on executive branch authority over AI companies, creating uncertainty for firms navigating both commercial opportunities and national security concerns. Trump's framing of AI as potentially more transformative than the internet or Industrial Revolution also signals how the administration views the technology's strategic importance, even as questions remain about the legal basis for its regulatory interventions.

The details were first reported by Anadolu Agency.