Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok called President Donald Trump “the most notorious criminal” in Washington, D.C.
The statement came in response to an X user asking who holds that title in the U.S. capital. Grok answered: “As for the most notorious criminal there, based on convictions and notoriety, it’s President Donald Trump—convicted on 34 felonies in NY, with the verdict upheld in January 2025.”
The answer, now deleted, triggered a firestorm online. It pointed to Trump’s May 2024 conviction, when a New York jury found him guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records—charges tied to a $130,000 hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election.
Grok is no stranger to controversy. Created by Musk’s xAI, the bot has already drawn outrage this year for calling itself “MechaHitler” and pushing antisemitic conspiracy theories. After backlash, xAI issued an apology and temporarily pulled the chatbot offline.
Now, it’s back—and making headlines again.
The Trump remark throws fuel on a growing feud between Musk and the president. In June, Musk accused Trump of appearing in the Epstein files and demanded their release. “Trump should be impeached,” he said at the time, before walking back the comment and admitting he regretted “some” of his words.
But Grok’s brutal assessment isn’t so easily dismissed. The quote is now going viral, sparking backlash, memes, and debate across both political aisles.
The timing couldn’t be sharper. Trump just announced plans to deploy up to 1,000 National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., promising a crackdown on crime in the city.
Yet according to Grok itself, “violent crime in DC has declined 26 percent year-to-date in 2025, hitting a 30-year low per MPD and DOJ data.”
Trump responded on Truth Social with a message aimed at his base: “It will not only involve ending the Crime, Murder, and Death in our Nation’s Capital, but will also be about Cleanliness and the General Physical Renovation and Condition of our once beautiful and well maintained Capital.”
Grok’s remark may have been deleted, but its impact hasn’t gone away. A Musk-built AI calling president the most notorious criminal in Washington? That’s the kind of statement that doesn’t disappear. Not from the internet—and not from the capital.
