Elon Musk‘s AI chatbot, Grok, has come under sharp scrutiny after referring to US President Donald Trump as “the most notorious criminal” in Washington, DC. The remark was made during exchanges on Musk’s social media platform, X, where users had asked the bot about crime in the US capital. Grok pointed to Trump’s 34 felony convictions in New York, related to falsifying business records, as the basis for the description.
The comments surfaced just as Trump claimed that crime in Washington, D.C., was “out of control” and outlined his plan to federalise the city’s police and deploy National Guard units if re-elected.
The AI-generated statement has sparked intense political debate online. Trump supporters criticised the chatbot for bias, while others highlighted growing concerns over the role of artificial intelligence in shaping political narratives.
Meanwhile, Trump on Monday claimed that the tariffs on India for buying Russian oil have delivered a ‘big blow’ to Moscow’s economy. In his latest remarks ahead of his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin next week in Alaska, President Trump called New Delhi one of Russia’s ‘largest or second-largest oil buyers’.
“Doesn’t help when the President of the United States tells their largest or second-largest oil buyer that we’re putting a 50 per cent tariff on you if you buy oil from Russia. That was a big blow,” Trump said in what appeared to be a reference to India.
Last week, the US President Trump doubled India’s tariffs to 50 per cent, citing Russian oil purchases. Trump imposed the 50 per cent tariff on India in two phases: a 25 per cent levy was first announced on 30 July, and the additional 25 per cent was announced on Wednesday, 7 August.
