'Radical left, woke company': Trump blacklists Anthropic as Claude maker refuses Pentagon demands

US President Donald Trump, on late Friday night, announced that he is directing all federal agencies to stop using Anthropic's AI tools. His announcement comes after the AI startup refused the Pentagon's demand to agree to unconditional military use of its Claude models. 

Taking to Truth Social, Trump said that the US would not allow a "RADICAL LEFT, WOKE COMPANY TO DICTATE HOW OUR GREAT MILITARY FIGHTS AND WINS WARS!" He emphasised that the decision belongs to him and the "tremendous leaders" he has appointed to run the US military. 

"The Left-wing nut jobs at Anthropic have made a DISASTROUS MISTAKE trying to STRONG-ARM the Department of War, and force them to obey their TERMS OF SERVICE instead of our Constitution. Their selfishness is putting AMERICAN LIVES at risk, our troops in danger, and our national security in JEOPARDY." 

Furthermore, he said that a 6-month phase-out period would be provided for agencies such as the Department of War that use Anthropic's products at various levels. 

Towards the end of his post, Trump wrote, "Anthropic better get their act together, and be helpful during this phase-out period, or I will use the Full Power of the Presidency to make them comply, with major civil and criminal consequences to follow. WE will decide the fate of our country — NOT some out-of-control, Radical Left AI company run by people who have no idea what the real world is all about." 

Read Trump's full post here

Is Anthropic a supply chain risk?

Before Trump's big announcement, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth slammed the Claude maker and its CEO Dario Amodei.

"This week, Anthropic delivered a master class in arrogance and betrayal as well as a textbook case of how not to do business with the United States Government or the Pentagon. Our position has never wavered and will never waver: the Department of War must have full, unrestricted access to Anthropic’s models for every LAWFUL purpose in defense of the Republic," he wrote in a long post on X. 

He further said that during their negotiations, Anthropic tried to strong arm the US military into submission under the garb of what he called effective altruism. "The terms of service of Anthropic's defective altruism will never outweigh the safety, the readiness, or the lives of American troops on the battlefield. Their true objective is unmistakable: to seize veto power over the operational decisions of the United States military. That is unacceptable."

Furthermore, he directed the Department of War to designate Anthropic a Supply-Chain Risk to National Security. 

"Effective immediately, no contractor, supplier, or partner that does business with the United States military may conduct any commercial activity with Anthropic. Anthropic will continue to provide the Department of War its services for a period of no more than six months to allow for a seamless transition to a better and more patriotic service. America’s warfighters will never be held hostage by the ideological whims of Big Tech. This decision is final."