Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei to dine privately with Trump at the White House amid months of conflict over AI safety

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is set to have a private dinner with President Donald Trump at the White House on Sunday evening, marking the first one-on-one meeting between the two men. Axios first reported the dinner. Trump confirmed the dinner on Sunday evening.

The dinner caps months of open conflict between Amodei and the Trump administration. Amodei has called for slowing AI development or proceeding with more caution, while Trump opposes slowing the pace. Two days before the meeting, a federal appeals court upheld the Pentagon’s decision to classify Anthropic as a supply chain risk, prohibiting the US military from using its models.

Months of friction

Anthropic was sanctioned by the Trump administration after refusing in February to allow its tools to be used for fully autonomous weapons or domestic mass surveillance. The company has been fighting the supply-chain risk designation in court, a separate Pentagon action that culminated in the appeals court ruling on Friday. Trump badmouthed Amodei, saying he was trying to be a perfect little angel after Amodei called for a pause in AI development. Adding to the unusual weekend for the Anthropic chief, Amodei was lampooned on the season premiere of Saturday Night Live this weekend.

Trump’s case against slowing down

Trump reiterated his belief that new regulations would open the door for China to outpace the United States in AI advancement. He acknowledged Amodei’s concern that going too fast on AI could expand risks but said maintaining a technological edge over China was more important. Trump told Fox News that the US is about a year and a half ahead of China in AI. He characterized the moment as one of trillions of dollars of AI infrastructure being built. “We’re leading, and we’re building tremendous, trillions of dollars’ worth of places. And why should we give that up?” Trump said. He has insisted, without evidence, that the AI backlash is a Democratic hoax. Trump also wants to rebrand the technology as super intelligence.

Amodei was absent from the state dinner held for Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday, an event attended by AI industry leaders including Sam Altman of OpenAI. Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson are set to meet with leading AI executives on Tuesday. The US government believes the sector’s major players (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Meta) cannot afford to slow down for fear China will gain the upper hand. Other administration officials have been friendlier to Anthropic beyond the Pentagon designation.

The sources do not establish what specifically will be discussed at the dinner or whether the supply-chain risk designation will be on the agenda. The outcome or any agreements from the dinner are not established.