Donald Trump’s new government AI chatbot was billed by the US president as a “damn good” tool. Within hours, however, it was making headlines for challenging several of his most disputed political claims.
By the next day, the chatbot had stopped responding to some questions about politics.
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“Hello, America. Whatever you need from government, start here,” says the America.gov platform, which Mr Trump launched as an effort to make government information and federal services easier to access.
But the chatbot quickly ran against Mr Trump’s assertions about issues including the 2020 presidential election, which he falsely says he won, and the 6 January 2021 insurrection, when a violent mob attacked the US Capitol.
Questions remained over whether the Trump administration had altered the chatbot’s settings to stop it from contradicting the president
“Initial analyses found that America.gov generally provided evidence-based answers backed by government records, even when those records contradicted claims made by Trump and his administration.”
Asked whether widespread voter fraud had occurred in the 2020 election, the chatbot replied: “Official federal assessments after the 2020 presidential election did not find fraud at a scale that changed the outcome.”
Democratic lawmakers quickly seized on the chatbot’s election responses.
“Finally, a straight answer from someone in the Trump administration,” Senator Adam Schiff of California wrote on X, sharing a screenshot in which the chatbot said former president Joe Biden had won the 2020 election.
But when the same question was put to the chatbot the following day, its response had changed. “I do not provide political commentary or analysis of past elections,” it said.
It was unclear whether the Trump administration had altered the settings to prevent the chatbot from contradicting the president.
“America.gov will continue to be updated to provide Americans the most accurate and reliable federal information and resources,” a White House official said in a statement, offering no further explanation.
Debunking further contentious claims
The chatbot continued to challenge some of Mr Trump’s other disputed assertions.
Asked about his widely debunked claim that the US endured the “worst inflation” in history under former president Biden, the chatbot rejected the premise.
“No. Official Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) data do not show the highest US inflation on record during 2021-2025.”
“‘Worst inflation ever’ is not supported by the official CPI record.”
The government platform’s launch comes as a series of cyber incidents around the world has intensified concern over the dangers of uncontrolled AI, prompting some technology executives to call for a slower, more cautious approach to development.
Mr Trump has dismissed such concerns as a conspiracy intended to weaken US economic growth and limit the country’s ability to compete with China.
