Musk’s AI chatbot Grok reportedly encouraged Trump to capture Venezuela’s president
Time magazine reports that in December 2025 President Trump met privately with Elon Musk and spent hours consulting Musk’s AI chatbot Grok, asking how Venezuelans might react if their president Nicolás Maduro were captured. According to the account, Grok told Trump many Venezuelans would likely celebrate Maduro’s downfall, an assessment that reportedly reinforced Trump’s view as U.S. forces invaded Venezuela on January 3 and captured Maduro.
Why It Matters
If accurate, the episode would show a sitting U.S. president seeking and acting on guidance from a commercial AI system in planning a military operation, raising questions about the role of privately developed models in high-stakes national security decisions. The report also comes amid wider use of Grok and other AI systems by defense agencies, according to the source material.
Key Facts
- Source: Time magazine (report cited in excerpt)
- When the meeting occurred: December 2025
- Event after meeting: U.S. invaded Venezuela and captured President Nicolás Maduro on January 3, 2026
- What Trump asked Grok: How Venezuelans would respond to the capture of their president
- Grok’s reported response: Maduro described as a 'deeply unpopular dictator' and many Venezuelans would likely celebrate his downfall (as reported)
Time reports that in December 2025 President Trump held a private meeting with Elon Musk during which he interacted extensively with Grok, the AI chatbot developed by Musk’s company. A source cited by Time said Trump asked Grok about how Venezuelans might react if their leader, Nicolás Maduro, were captured. According to the report, Grok advised that Maduro was widely unpopular and that many Venezuelans would likely welcome his removal. The meeting occurred roughly a month before U.S. forces moved into Venezuela and captured Maduro on January 3, a development the report links to the earlier discussions. The account also notes that in the months before the capture, the Trump administration had been striking Venezuelan vessels it said were tied to drug trafficking, and that public interest in Grok’s assessments about Venezuela had grown. Time’s reporting further describes how Trump reportedly judged Grok’s input to be “ingenious” after celebrations followed the capture. The excerpt also references the Pentagon’s use of Gov Grok for operational purposes, citing a Pentagon official who said the model was used to help deploy and strike targets during the Iran War. The piece situates Grok alongside other AI vendors — including OpenAI and Anthropic — that have arrangements or negotiations with the Department of Defense. Finally, the report mentions a Pentagon announcement that Elon Musk and Anduril founder Palmer Luckey will co-lead a study on applying advanced technology to battlefield operations, underscoring a broader trend of private-sector AI tools being integrated into national security planning.
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