Elon Musk’s AI chatbot, Grok, reportedly played a role in shaping President Trump’s perspective on the potential capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, according to a Time magazine report.
What Happened
In December 2025, approximately one month before the U.S. military invaded Venezuela and captured Maduro, President Trump held a secret meeting with Elon Musk, Time reported. This meeting occurred roughly seven months after Musk departed his role at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). During the session, Trump "spent hours" interacting with Grok, specifically asking how the Venezuelan population might react to the removal of their president. A source told Time that Grok responded by characterizing Maduro as a "deeply unpopular dictator" and suggesting that "many Venezuelans would likely celebrate his downfall."
The report notes that public interest in Grok’s political insights had been rising since September, when Trump began ordering military strikes against Venezuelan boats alleged to be involved in drug trafficking. Following the U.S. invasion on January 3, which was accompanied by public celebrations in Venezuela, the source indicated that Trump "came away thinking Grok was ingenious."
Why It Matters
This development highlights the increasing integration of large language models into high-stakes geopolitical decision-making. While Grok is not the sole AI tool utilized by the Department of Defense—OpenAI holds an agreement with the DoD, and Anthropic has been engaged in negotiations regarding the use of its models for military intelligence—Grok appears to be gaining favor within the current administration. The Pentagon’s head of AI stated in June that the military had utilized "Gov Grok" to deploy and strike targets during the Iran War. Furthermore, earlier this week, the Pentagon announced that Musk and Anduril’s Palmer Luckey have been selected to co-lead a study on the application of advanced technology in modern battlefields, signaling a continued partnership between private AI leaders and defense officials.
The Bottom Line
Grok’s reported influence on Trump’s pre-invasion strategy underscores the growing reliance on AI chatbots for strategic analysis in government. As the Pentagon expands its use of AI for military operations and strategic studies, the line between commercial AI assistants and defense intelligence tools continues to blur.