Trump calls AI safety warnings 'sick conspiracy' in call with Nvidia CEO
The president vowed to prioritize rapid AI development over safety pauses to maintain a competitive edge over China.
President Donald Trump dismissed warnings about AI safety and opposition to data center expansion as a "hoax" and a "sick conspiracy" during a high-profile phone call on Monday, September 14, 2026. Speaking via speakerphone to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang while Huang was onstage at the All-In Summit in Los Angeles, Trump argued that any slowdown in American AI development would primarily benefit China.
During the exchange, Trump asserted that "whoever wins AI, wins," framing the current debate over safety guardrails as a threat to national security. Huang responded to the president's stance by stating, "We’re not going to let that happen, sir." The call comes amid intensifying pressure from some industry leaders to implement a precautionary approach to the technology's rollout.
The safety debate
The president's comments were a direct response to a growing movement within the AI sector to pace the development of new models. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei recently published an essay urging AI firms to slow their pace to ensure safety, a position that has garnered support from other prominent figures, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
This internal industry tension is further complicated by government relations. The Department of War (formerly the Department of Defense) recently designated Anthropic as a supply chain risk. This designation followed a dispute regarding a $200 million defense contract and the firm's public scrutiny of the government's position.
Infrastructure and public resistance
Beyond the theoretical risks of AI, the physical expansion of the industry is facing significant domestic headwinds. The push for more data centers to power next-generation models has met with widespread public disapproval. According to Gallup polling from May 2026, approximately 7 in 10 Americans oppose the construction of AI data centers in their local areas.
These residents frequently cite environmental and energy concerns as the primary drivers of their opposition. The clash highlights a widening gap between the federal government's view of AI infrastructure as a strategic imperative and the local communities tasked with hosting the energy-intensive facilities.
National security implications
Trump's dismissal of safety concerns suggests a regulatory trajectory that prioritizes speed and global dominance over the precautionary frameworks advocated by researchers. By framing safety warnings as a conspiracy, the administration signals that it views the AI race as a zero-sum geopolitical competition where any delay is a strategic failure.
What's next
Industry observers are now watching to see if this executive stance will translate into specific policy changes, such as the streamlining of data center permits or the removal of certain safety-related regulatory hurdles. While the administration remains focused on the threat from China, the tension between the Department of War and leading AI labs like Anthropic suggests that the path to a unified national AI strategy remains fraught with conflict.