Five Days After Calling AI Risk a "HOAX," Trump Answers the Industry's Safety Warnings by Announcing an "AI Force" Modeled on Space Force and an "AI 'Czar'" — "Only High I.Q. Individuals Need Apply!" — While Ro Khanna Says an Offensive AI Capability "Would Give Me a Lot of Pause" and Calls for an FDA for AI
On September 19, 2026, President Trump posted on Truth Social that he is forming an "AI Force," modeled on the Space Force he created in his first term, and will soon name an "AI 'Czar'" to lead it — adding "Only High I.Q. individuals need apply!" The announcement came days after he dismissed warnings from AI company leaders and researchers about the pace of AI development as a "HOAX" by "Radical Left Dumocrats," and he used the post to promise the industry that "We will not in any way hinder or stifle the Growth of this incredible Industry." The next morning on Face the Nation, Rep. Ro Khanna said he did not know what Trump's vision was and that an offensive military AI capability "would give me a lot of pause," renewing his call for an independent federal AI regulator on the model of the FDA and urging Trump to negotiate an international AI agreement with Xi Jinping at their White House summit later in the week.
“Scott Bessent will not be going to be Super Intelligence (SI) Czar. Number One, he doesn't want to. Number Two, he's doing such a great job at Treasury, and that's where I want to keep him!”