There are the furious posts on Truth Social, and then there is the reality behind the scenes. While Donald Trump has repeatedly said the United States needs to move forward on artificial intelligence (AI), debates inside the White House have been far more nuanced, as confirmed by a New York Times investigation published on Friday, September 18. "Trump Calls AI Fears a Hoax. Inside the White House, the Debate Is More Complex," read the headline.

The president's social media posts have grown more and more excessive by the day. "The AI Hoax being perpetrated by the Radical Left Dumocrats is reminiscent of their Global Warming Scam of not so long ago, where everyone was going to die from extreme heat," Trump, a climate change skeptic, posted on Wednesday. Yet the real heat he is currently under comes from the upcoming midterm elections, set for early November, which are shaping up badly amid mounting economic fears.

According to The New York Times, Trump is most concerned about economic growth, with AI being virtually the only sector driving growth in the US economy. He reportedly fears that the AI bubble could burst, triggering a financial crisis that would plunge the US into recession.