How Sam Altman replaced Elon Musk: From calling Donald Trump "unfit to be President and a threat to US national security" to becoming his go-to man for AI
CEO
Sam Altman
has emerged as President Trump's primary AI advisor after strategically outmaneuvering rival
Elon Musk
, marking a dramatic reversal from his previous harsh criticism of the president. Altman, who once compared
Trump
to Hitler and called him "an unprecedented threat to America," now enjoys regular White House access and influence over crucial AI policy decisions, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The transformation culminated in June when Altman dined with Trump at his New Jersey golf club, with the president introducing him as "a very brilliant man" to applauding members. This warm reception contrasts sharply with Altman's earlier exclusion from Mar-a-Lago meetings and relegation to the inauguration overflow room rather than the main stage with fellow tech CEOs.
Altman's strategic pivot pays off as Musk relationship deteriorates
Altman's rise coincided with Musk's spectacular departure from Trump's inner circle in May, following disagreements over the president's "Big Beautiful Bill" spending legislation. The Tesla CEO's public criticism escalated into what the BBC described as "a vicious public spat" where Trump threatened to "put DOGE on Elon" and suggested the billionaire might need to "head back home to South Africa".
Altman capitalized on this opening by quietly building relationships through influential
MAGA lobbyist
Jeff Miller and Trump campaign adviser Chris LaCivita, while securing backing from
Oracle
co-founder Larry Ellison, the Journal reported. His $1 million inauguration donation helped secure access, leading to the high-profile announcement of the $500 billion Stargate AI infrastructure partnership.
Political transformation from Democrat to Trump ally
The OpenAI chief's political evolution has been striking. In 2016, he endorsed Hillary Clinton and wrote that "
Donald Trump
represents an unprecedented threat to America," comparing Trump's tactics to Hitler's Big Lie strategy, ABC News reported. He donated $200,000 to Joe Biden's 2024 reelection campaign and praised Democratic supporter
Reid Hoffman
for preventing Trump's 2020 reelection.
Altman's shift began during the Biden administration when he grew disillusioned with Democratic economic and AI policies. He warned government contacts that Covid-era stimulus would cause inflation and considered the CHIPS Act's $50 billion semiconductor investment "laughably small," according to the Wall Street Journal. The Biden administration's chip export restrictions also thwarted his plans to build AI infrastructure in the Middle East.
By July 2024, Altman posted on X that he was "no longer a Democrat," explaining the party had moved so far left it left him "politically homeless." He later acknowledged that "watching [Trump] more carefully recently has really changed my perspective on him," telling associates he regretted his harsh earlier criticism. Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren and Michael Bennet recently sent Altman a letter questioning whether his Trump donation was meant to "curry favor and skirt the rules."
AI infrastructure agenda drives new alliance
Altman's strategy focused on appealing to Trump's builder background and competitive nature, framing OpenAI as the AI leader while advocating for massive government investment in AI infrastructure to compete with China. In June 2024, OpenAI executives met Trump in Las Vegas, demonstrating their then-unreleased Sora video generator and making the case for sweeping aside environmental reviews to accelerate development.
The approach resonated immediately. Days later, Trump told podcaster Logan Paul that America needed to "take the lead over China" in AI, noting that "China will produce it because they'll do whatever you have to do, whereas we have environmental impact people." By the Republican National Convention, AI infrastructure became part of Trump's platform. This alignment succeeded where Musk's confrontational style failed, positioning Altman as the administration's key AI partner as Trump prepares to unveil his AI action plan later this month, the Journal reported.
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