Former President Donald Trump deflected a question about artificial intelligence by launching an unrelated tangent about Iran during a media interview [1].
The exchange highlights Trump's complicated relationship with emerging technology and his tendency to pivot from specific policy questions to broader geopolitical criticisms.
During the interview with a BBC reporter, Trump avoided addressing the AI query directly [2]. Instead, he used the moment to criticize Iran and the reporter [2]. He said that artificial intelligence was being used to misrepresent his positions.
"The ones who put AI in my mouth are the ones who are trying to…" Trump said [2].
This interaction follows a period of high AI activity from the former president. On Sunday, May 17, 2026, Trump engaged in a posting spree on social media [3]. He shared more than 20 AI-generated posts within a 90-minute span [3]. Those posts were used to attack Democrats, including former President Barack Obama and Governor Gavin Newsom [3].
The contrast between his social media usage and his interview responses suggests a strategic use of AI for political messaging while remaining dismissive of the technology when questioned by the press [2, 3]. Trump did not provide a detailed answer regarding the regulatory or ethical implications of AI during the BBC encounter [2].
“"The ones who put AI in my mouth are the ones who are trying to…"”
The incident illustrates a tension between Trump's adoption of AI-generated content for digital campaigning and his adversarial reaction to the technology when it is used as a subject of journalistic scrutiny. By pivoting to Iran, he shifted the conversation from a technical or policy-based discussion to a familiar geopolitical narrative.
