Anthropic CEO Amodei meets Trump for late‑night White House talks as AI tensions mount

On September 28, President Donald Trump met with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei for a late dinner at Joint Base Andrews near Washington. This marked the first one-on-one meeting between the two men, according to US media. Trump, who had recently attended a golf tournament in Chicago, joked about having a long day but being able to handle it.

He introduced Amodei as "very highly respected" and stated that the dinner was taking place despite a recent court ruling that classified Anthropic as a supply chain risk, prohibiting the U.S. military from using its models. The meeting came two days after the Pentagon's decision and followed Anthropic's refusal to allow its models to be used for fully autonomous weapons or domestic mass surveillance, which had resulted in sanctions from the Trump administration.

Trump also criticized Amodei for calling for a pause in AI development, claiming that he was trying to be "a perfect little angel." Despite calls for slowing down AI development due to the risk of losing human control, Trump maintained that the sector's major players cannot afford to slow down, as China might gain an advantage. When asked about security incidents caused by advanced AI models, Trump dismissed these concerns, stating that he was not worried. Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson are scheduled to meet with leading AI executives on Tuesday.