President Trump revealed in a November 2026 appearance on 60 Minutes that the Department of Justice threatened to arrest the leader of a major AI company over alleged misconduct, claiming the threat prompted the executive to change their behavior entirely.
“We had a situation where somebody was reported to us to be doing something bad with AI,” Trump said. “We called them very strongly and said, ‘Get ready to go to jail. Please give your wife a kiss good night.'” Trump declined to name the individual or the company, saying only that it was the head of “one of the big ones.”
The remarks came in response to questions from 60 Minutes interviewer Ross Douthat about AI executives’ own public warnings regarding the safety risks of their models. Trump downplayed those concerns, saying, “I think that the risk is not nearly as real as they talk, and I think the risk can be managed, and it’s managed,” pointing to the DOJ as the body handling oversight.
When asked whether he would work with Democrats on AI safety legislation, Trump said he “absolutely would,” but expressed reluctance to impose regulations that could put the United States at a competitive disadvantage. “I don’t mind guardrails, but I don’t want to put us in a deep second position. We’re leading number one,” he said. He contrasted the U.S. approach with China’s, noting, “China has no guardrails, by the way. They have the guardrails that whatever President Xi says goes.”
The comments suggest the administration may be pursuing informal enforcement actions in the AI sector, though Trump provided no details about the nature of the alleged misconduct or whether any formal legal proceedings were initiated.
Source: The Verge