Settled
Time: Trump consulted Musk's Grok before Maduro's capture in Venezuela
In short
Time magazine reported that Donald Trump asked Elon Musk's chatbot Grok in December 2025, at a White House meeting, how Venezuelans would react if the United States captured President Nicolas Maduro. Grok answered that many Venezuelans would likely welcome his removal, and Trump afterwards considered the chatbot “brilliant”, according to officials cited by the magazine. US forces seized Maduro and his wife on 3 January 2026 and took them to New York, where they face charges including narcoterrorism.
Why it matters
The report links the use of a commercial AI chatbot to deliberations ahead of a US military operation against another country's president, an unusual account of AI in high-level decision-making. Kommersant notes that consulting an AI is not the same as letting it decide, and that the disclosed record is not enough to treat the Grok conversation as a basis for the operation. The Venezuelan case is also cited by Trump as an example of how a show of force can extend US influence.
Key facts
- Time reported that Trump consulted Grok in December 2025 at the White House about how Venezuelans would react to the capture of Nicolas Maduro. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Grok's creator Elon Musk was present at the conversation, Time reported. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- According to the magazine, Grok replied that many Venezuelans would probably welcome or be glad at Maduro's removal. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Time reported that Trump spent several hours asking the chatbot about his presidency and political legacy, and later considered Grok “brilliant”. [ 1 , 2 ]
- US forces seized Maduro and his wife, Silia Flores, on 3 January and took them to New York; charges include narcoterrorism, Meduza reported. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Vedomosti reported that on 5 January Maduro appeared before a federal judge in Manhattan and pleaded not guilty. [ 1 ]
- Kommersant, citing The Wall Street Journal, reported that the Claude model was used in developing the operation plan and that Anthropic is suing the Pentagon. [ 3 ]
- Vedomosti reported that on 26 September Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called for the release of Maduro and Flores. [ 1 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Time reported that Trump consulted the Grok chatbot in December 2025 at the White House about how Venezuelans would react to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Grok's answer, as the outlets cite it, was that many Venezuelans would welcome or be glad at Maduro's removal. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Grok's creator Elon Musk was present at the conversation, according to Time. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- US forces seized Maduro and his wife, Silia Flores, on 3 January and took them to New York. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- US authorities charged Maduro and Flores with offences including drug trafficking and terrorism or narcoterrorism. [ 2 , 3 ]
- After the meeting Trump decided that Grok was “brilliant”, according to officials cited by Time. [ 1 , 2 ]
Still unclear
- Whether the December conversation with Grok played any part in the decision to launch the operation against Maduro. Kommersant says details of AI use in Venezuela were not disclosed and that a consultation with Grok is not the same as giving a neural network the right to decide, so the role of that consultation cannot be treated as an established independent basis for the operation.
- The reported use of the Claude model in planning the raid. Mentioned only by Kommersant, citing The Wall Street Journal and unnamed sources; no other document refers to it.
- The identity of the source behind Time's account. The source is described only as an official who was present at the conversation; no name is given in any document.
- Trump's proposal to rename artificial intelligence “superintelligence” and Lavrov's call for Maduro's release. Both are reported only by Vedomosti, which does not state the year of either remark.
What local media are saying
Business mediaThe three business outlets — Vedomosti, Meduza and Kommersant — all based their coverage on Time's account, leading with the December 2025 White House conversation between Trump and Grok and the chatbot's answer about Venezuelan reaction. They then tied it to the 3 January capture of Maduro and his wife and the charges against them; Kommersant added context on the reported use of the Claude model in planning the raid and caution about what AI consultations do and do not mean, while Vedomosti also noted Lavrov's call for Maduro's release and Trump's remarks on renaming AI.
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Timeline, local time
- Vedomosti publishes its report on Time's account of Trump's consultation with Grok, adding Lavrov's call for Maduro's release and Trump's “superintelligence” remark. [ 1 ]
- Meduza publishes its account, specifying the January 2026 operation and the charges including narcoterrorism. [ 2 ]
- Kommersant publishes its report, adding The Wall Street Journal's claim about the Claude model and Anthropic's suit against the Pentagon. [ 3 ]