Trump softens stance on Anthropic after G7 meeting
President Trump told Axios he no longer views Anthropic as a national security threat, saying "Well, not now, but a week ago, maybe," per a June 19 interview on 'The Axios Show.' Trump added that Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei had "responded very responsibly," and on the question of invoking the Defense Production Act said: "I have the power to use a lot of things. But I'm not sure I have to do that." The remarks followed a G7 summit encounter in Evian-les-Bains, France between Trump and Amodei, Axios reports. The Trump administration's June 12 Commerce Department directive - confirmed by Axios and Bloomberg - required Anthropic to obtain US government approval before foreign nationals could access its most advanced models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5, after Amazon reported a jailbreak vulnerability. Anthropic responded by disabling both models globally.
What happened
President Trump told Axios he no longer views Anthropic as a national security threat, saying "Well, not now, but a week ago, maybe," per a June 19 interview with host Marc Caputo on "The Axios Show." Trump said he walked away from the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France with the impression that Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei was "nice" and "smart," adding: "He responded very responsibly, I thought." On whether he would invoke emergency Defense Production Act powers, Trump said: "I have the power to use a lot of things. But I'm not sure I have to do that."
Background
The June 12 Commerce Department directive - confirmed by Axios and Bloomberg - restricted foreign nationals from accessing Anthropic's Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models without US government approval. The action followed an Amazon report identifying a jailbreak vulnerability; Trump told Axios "It was a competitor and a part owner that turned Anthropic in." Anthropic responded by disabling both models globally. The Fortune June 18 deep dive names Amazon CEO Andy Jassy's phone call as a trigger for the crackdown. Prior reporting had also noted the Pentagon designating Anthropic a supply-chain risk and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick sending the export-control letter.
Anthropic's response
Anthropic said: "We are grateful to the administration for their ongoing partnership in working to get this matter resolved as quickly as possible. We remain committed to working alongside them towards our shared goals of protecting critical infrastructure and making sure the U.S. leads in AI," per the Axios interview.
Regulatory context
A presidential statement does not itself rescind a formal agency directive; the Commerce Department order remains in effect until formally changed or waived. The two sides are reportedly working on standards to evaluate AI jailbreaks, per Axios. Trump told Axios he does not want to shut Anthropic down because the US is "beating China by a lot" on AI - signaling the race against China outweighs the political friction.
What to watch
Follow-up formal guidance from the Commerce Department on the scope of Fable 5 and Mythos 5 access requirements, any published jailbreak evaluation standards, and whether the Pentagon revises its supply-chain risk designation.
Key Points
- 1Trump told Axios he no longer views Anthropic as a national security threat after a G7 meeting with CEO Amodei, though the June 12 Commerce Department directive remains formally in effect.
- 2The directive was triggered by an Amazon jailbreak vulnerability report; Anthropic disabled Fable 5 and Mythos 5 globally and the two sides are now reportedly working on AI jailbreak evaluation standards.
- 3A presidential statement alone does not rescind an agency order - practitioners should track formal Commerce Department guidance and any published standards before expecting restored foreign access.
Scoring Rationale
A sitting US president publicly softening his stance on a leading AI vendor after export controls on Fable 5 and Mythos 5 marks a notable shift in the political environment around AI regulation - relevant to practitioners tracking compliance, model access, and government-AI-lab relations. Score stays in the notable range: the underlying Commerce directive remains in effect and formal resolution is still pending, limiting near-term operational impact.
Sources
Public references used for this report.
View 4 more sources
- 04The week that changed AI: Inside Trump's Anthropic crackdown, and how a phone call from Amazon CEO Andy Jassy triggered the chaosfortune.com
- 05Not anymore: Trump on whether he sees Anthropic threatening national securityindiatoday.in
- 06Trump tells Axios that he doesn’t see Anthropic as US security threatthehindubusinessline.com
- 07Trump says Anthropic no longer a national security threatarynews.tv
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