President Donald Trump asked Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok how Venezuelans would respond if the United States captured Nicolás Maduro, weeks before the operation took place, according to a TIME report.
The exchange occurred during a private Oval Office meeting with Musk in December 2025. An official who attended told TIME that Trump spent hours questioning the chatbot about his presidency and legacy, including asking about a potential operation against Maduro.
Grok’s answer leaves an impression
According to TIME, Grok described Maduro as a repressive, unpopular leader and predicted that many Venezuelans would welcome his removal.
After Trump ordered the operation the following month and celebrations broke out, officials said the president was impressed by the chatbot’s assessment.
The account describes Trump seeking a forecast of public reaction. It does not establish that Grok planned the operation or determined his decision to proceed.
TIME placed the episode within Trump’s growing enthusiasm for artificial intelligence and his increasingly close relationship with executives developing the technology. The president has also expressed concern that China could outpace the United States in AI.
From the Oval Office to military use
TechCrunch reported that the December meeting came roughly seven months after Musk left his role in the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency.
By then, Washington’s campaign against Venezuela was already underway. Trump had begun ordering military strikes against Venezuelan boats in September, alleging that they were involved in drug trafficking. The United States captured Maduro on January 3.
TechCrunch also reported that Grok’s role in the administration extended beyond the president’s personal conversations with the chatbot.
In June, the Pentagon’s head of AI said the military had used Gov Grok to deploy and strike targets during the Iran war, according to the publication.
Grok is one of several AI systems connected to the Pentagon. TechCrunch noted that OpenAI also has an agreement with the department, while Anthropic has been in a dispute over the military’s use of its models.
Musk’s involvement is expanding, too. Earlier this week, the Pentagon announced that he and Anduril’s Palmer Luckey would jointly lead a study examining how advanced technologies are being used on battlefields and how they could be used in future.
