Musk's Grok Chatbot Advised Trump on Venezuela Invasion

During a secret meeting in December 2025, former President Donald Trump spent hours interacting with Elon Musk's Grok chatbot, according to a report from Time magazine. The meeting occurred roughly seven months after Musk stepped down from his position at the Department of Government Efficiency. Trump reportedly asked the AI model how the public would react if the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Grok responded that Maduro was a "deeply unpopular dictator" and predicted that many citizens would celebrate his removal.

This exchange followed military actions in September 2025, when Trump ordered strikes against Venezuelan vessels suspected of drug trafficking. At the time, public interest in the conflict was high, with reports from The Atlantic noting that users frequently queried Grok about the boat strikes and Venezuela's political climate. Following the subsequent U.S. invasion of Venezuela on January 3, 2026, which resulted in Maduro's capture and subsequent public celebrations, Trump reportedly concluded that the Grok chatbot was ingenious.

The influence of Musk's AI technology has since expanded within the defense sector. In June, the Pentagon's head of artificial intelligence revealed that the military utilized a specialized version called Gov Grok to deploy assets and strike targets during the Iran War. While other AI developers like OpenAI have established agreements with the Department of Defense, and Anthropic remains in discussions regarding the use of its models for military intelligence and modern warfare, Grok appears to be gaining significant traction under the current administration.

This integration comes alongside deeper ties between Musk and military leadership. The Pentagon recently announced that Musk and Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey will co-lead a new study exploring how advanced technology can be deployed on modern battlefields.