Trump Claims Criminal Authority Over AI Firms, Investors Unmoved

President Donald Trump stated that his administration already possesses criminal and regulatory authority over artificial intelligence firms. He made that assertion while contending that the sector requires no safeguard other than himself.

He published the message shortly after Monday's market opened, at a time when AI shares were already being sold off.

A Boast That Reads Like a Warning

The post appeared on Truth Social and began with a statement about presidential authority.

“The only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades! … We already have tremendous CRIMINAL and REGULATORY power over these companies!” Trump said.

No new authority was declared. Federal prosecutors already have the ability to bring charges against a company, and regulators already possess jurisdiction over the industry.

What shifted is that a president decided to wield that leverage while shielding the same companies. For investors, leverage over the firms that support the AI trade points in an unfavorable direction.

Why the Claim Did Not Lift AI Stocks

On Monday, the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.85%, and the S&P 500 fell 0.57%.

Semiconductor companies were hardest hit. Marvell Technology dropped 8%, Intel 7%, AMD 5%, and both Nvidia and Broadcom roughly 3%. Cloud provider CoreWeave, focused on AI, declined 7%.

In Tokyo, SoftBank Group, a major external investor in OpenAI, ended the day down over 10%. BeInCrypto noted how the AI slowdown unsettled futures ahead of the opening bell.

The AI trade is valued based on spending levels. Chipmakers, data center constructors, and cloud providers generate revenue from the speed at which laboratories train increasingly large models.

Trump's message was intended to safeguard that spending. He indicated that Washington would not apply a restriction, which typically signals a green light.

In a separate post, Trump dismissed recent requests for safety measures from Anthropic, OpenAI, and xAI, describing the entire push as a "SICK conspiracy" targeting domestic data centers, according to BeInCrypto.

The message fell flat because the restriction that investors worry about is voluntary and originates within the labs. Congress has not imposed any federal mandate, as BeInCrypto noted when the safety responsibility moved to developers.

A president can block legislation. He cannot compel Anthropic to accelerate its product releases.

Meanwhile, oil markets added complexity. Brent crude rose roughly 4% that same morning after Saudi Arabia closed its East-West pipeline, meaning not every decline is linked to AI.

The Fight With Anthropic

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei released an essay on Saturday calling for labs to decelerate development on their most advanced models. Sam Altman and Elon Musk expressed support.

“The Trump Administration has stopped AI ‘people’ from doing bad, or potentially bad, ‘things,’ like Dario (Anthropic!), who is now pretending to be a ‘perfect little angel'” Trump said in the post.

Beijing dismissed the broader characterization. Spokesperson Guo Jiakun stated that fearmongering and unhealthy competition benefit no one.

Investor Michael Burry interpreted the safety campaign differently, claiming it is actually about eliminating smaller competitors.

President Trump is scheduled to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping on September 24. Until that date, investors must determine whether a president asserting criminal authority over AI companies serves as a floor beneath the trade or a ceiling above it.