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Time reports Trump consulted Musk's Grok before Maduro capture; aides reportedly uneasy

Citing Time magazine, outlets report that Trump questioned Elon Musk's Grok chatbot about Venezuela in December 2025, a month before Nicolás Maduro was captured. Raw Story adds that advisers are alarmed at how much weight he gives it.

2 outlets · 1L · 1C · 0R First reported Account updated
Image: Raw Story
Image: TechCrunch

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The story, neutrally told

Time magazine reported that President Donald Trump has leaned on Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok in shaping decisions, and the account has been relayed by Raw Story and TechCrunch. The reliance is traced to a private meeting in December 2025, roughly seven months after Musk left his Department of Government Efficiency role, at which Trump reportedly spent hours questioning Grok. Raw Story describes the meeting as a clandestine one in the Oval Office.

Trump asked how Venezuelans would react if the U.S. captured Nicolás Maduro, and Grok reportedly called Maduro a "deeply unpopular dictator" whose fall many Venezuelans would likely celebrate, according to a source or official present. The U.S. then moved against Maduro, with the operation on January 3, and celebrations followed; Trump reportedly came away thinking Grok was "ingenious". TechCrunch adds context: Trump had begun ordering military strikes on Venezuelan boats he alleged were involved in drug trafficking in September, and users had been asking Grok about them.

Raw Story, citing Time, says close advisers are alarmed by the weight Trump gives Grok, and that one aide said he "just really just didn't seem to care" about polling showing public anxiety over AI because his mind was made up from using Grok. Per Raw Story, the administration is also anxious that AI hype is propping up the stock market and that China could gain an edge in AI infrastructure, while Trump has backed unrestrained data-center build-out despite local backlash. TechCrunch notes the Pentagon's head of AI said in June that the military used Gov Grok to deploy and strike targets in the Iran War, and that this week the Pentagon named Musk and Anduril's Palmer Luckey to co-lead a study on advanced technology on battlefields.

Both accounts rely on Time's anonymous sourcing; neither article includes a response from Trump, Musk or the White House, and Grok's actual influence on the decision is not independently established.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on.

Left1 outlet

Framing
Frames Trump as dependent on Grok, with alarmed aides and a president ignoring polling.
Emphasis
Aide quotes, AI policy anxieties, data-center push.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not cover Pentagon use of Grok.
Charged language
“terrified they've been replaced”
For example
“close advisers are alarmed are alarmed by how much weight he's giving it” — Raw Story

Centre1 outlet

Framing
Tech-focused: Grok reportedly encouraged the Venezuela operation, tied to growing military use of Grok.
Emphasis
Timeline of Venezuela actions and Pentagon-Musk ties.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not mention aides' alarm or data-center polling.
Charged language
“reportedly”“apparently”
For example
“Grok may become an even bigger favorite under this administration.” — TechCrunch

Right0 outlets

No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.