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Trump confirms Bessent will not be ‘super intelligence’ czar

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Cite

Zimmermann, D. (2026, September 25). Trump confirms Bessent will not be ‘super intelligence’ czar. Washington Examiner. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/technology/4743248/trump-bessent-not-super-intelligence-czar-despite-reports-suggesting-top-of-contenders/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Washington Examiner · collected 2026-09-25 · by David Zimmermann

Quick Summary

President Donald Trump confirmed via Truth Social that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will not be appointed as the "super intelligence" czar for leading the proposed AI Force, citing Bessent's current effective performance at Treasury. The president renamed artificial intelligence to “super intelligence” following a series of polls he conducted on social media, believing it better represents the technology’s perceived power and authority compared to "artificial intelligence."
Written by AI on 2026-09-25, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On September 25, President Donald Trump confirmed via his social media platform Truth Social that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will not be appointed as the first "Super Intelligence (SI) Czar," despite previous speculation. Trump cited two reasons for this decision: Bessent’s lack of interest in the role and his excellent performance at Treasury, where Trump wants to keep him. Trump had previously announced that he would rename artificial intelligence to "super intelligence" in all official U.S. government documents after conducting polls on social media. This shift is part of broader initiatives by Trump to establish an AI czar and create an "AI force," although details remain unclear. Some saw Bessent as a leading candidate for the role, given his recent discussions with Chinese officials about AI safety mechanisms in New York City.

Written for “Trump Rejects Bessent As AI Czar” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Trump Rejects Bessent As AI Czar
Politics · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans right and hedges 7% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Trump says Treasury’s Scott Bessent will not be his AI czar Same event
The Straits Times
Hedges 2 of 14 claims Outlet record 66/100
US Treasury secretary could take on AI czar role, source says Different event
The Hindu
Hedges 1 of 9 claims Outlet record 60/100
“Article A discusses the potential for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to become the AI czar, while Article B explicitly states that Bessent will not be appointed as the AI czar.”
US Treasury secretary could take on AI czar role, source says Different event
The Hindu
Hedges 1 of 9 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles describe different outcomes regarding Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's potential role as AI czar; Article A suggests a possibility while Article B confirms he will not take the position.”
Trump says U.S. will henceforth call AI ‘super intelligence’ Different event
The Hindu
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 0 of 4 claims Outlet record 60/100
“Article A reports on Trump's announcement to use 'super intelligence' in government documents during a UN speech, while Article B discusses Trump confirming that Scott Bessent will not be the AI czar for the newly named 'Super Intelligence Force'.”
Trumps says the U.S. will 'only encourage superintelligence' in AI Different event
NBC News
Outlet record 78/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of AI policy and appointments under President Trump's administration.”
Will Trump's AI rebrand as 'super intelligence' catch on? Different event
BBC News
Hedges 2 of 28 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss related topics but describe different events: one announces the term change for AI and the other confirms Bessent will not be appointed as 'Super Intelligence czar'.”
US treasury chief Scott Bessent could be Trump's new AI adviser amid US-China talks: Report Different event
Times of India
Hedges 5 of 27 claims Outlet record 59/100
“The articles describe different outcomes regarding Scott Bessent's potential role as AI adviser: one suggests he could be appointed, while the other confirms he will not take up the position.”
Don’t give Trump an ‘AI force’ until it can stop a rogue agent Different event
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans left further left than this Hedges 1 of 47 claims Outlet record 69/100
“The articles describe related announcements about the AI Force but refer to different specific occurrences: one about the general plan of an AI Force and the other about a confirmation that Scott Bessent will not be its leader.”
Trump’s new superintelligence czar: Here’s who is in the running to lead new AI Force Different event
New York Post
Hedges 2 of 31 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A reports on Trump confirming that Bessent will not be the AI czar, while Article B discusses potential candidates for the role of AI czar without mentioning Bessent's exclusion.”
AI bosses to attend meeting with Trump as safety pressure builds Different event
The Straits Times
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 4 of 24 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A discusses Trump's confirmation that Scott Bessent will not be the AI czar, while Article B reports on an upcoming meeting with AI executives at the White House. These are two separate events.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
15
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
7%
1 of 15 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
69/100
Washington Examiner's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-25 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Who wrote this

David Zimmermann
124 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 124 articles by David Zimmermann →

Topics

AI Force Semafor Treasury Truth Social White House

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 6× Bessent PERSON · 2× Scott Bessent PERSON · 2× Semafor ORG · 2× Treasury ORG · 2× White House ORG · 2× AI Force ORG · 1× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× Truth Social ORG · 1× the U.N. General Assembly ORG · 1×

Narrative

At the U.N. General Assembly earlier this week, Trump said he would direct his administration to rename artificial intelligence to “super intelligence” in all official U.S. government documents.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-25
🔮 Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will not be the first AI czar to lead the so-called AI Force, President Donald Trump confirmed on Friday.
2026-09-25 · Washington Examiner
Trump confirms Bessent will not be ‘super intelligence’ czar · assertive framing

Claims (15 extracted, 1 hedged)

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will not be the first AI czar to lead the so-called AI Force, President Donald Trump confirmed on Friday. asserted
Trump → lead → Friday
The president appeared to be addressing a Semafor report that listed Bessent as a top contender for the new role. asserted
that → appear → role
“Scott Bessent will not be going to be Super Intelligence (SI) Czar,” Trump posted on Truth Social. asserted
Trump → go → Social
“Number One, he doesn’t want to. asserted
he → want → ?
Number Two, he’s doing such a great job at Treasury, and that’s where I want to keep him! asserted
I → do → him
Why would I ever make such a change? asserted
I → make → change
At the U.N. General Assembly earlier this week, Trump said he would direct his administration to rename artificial intelligence to “super intelligence” in all official U.S. government documents. asserted
he → say → documents
He started using the new term after posting a series of polls for the public to choose which name. asserted
public → start → name
Trump eventually settled on “super intelligence,” which he believes conveys a sense of power. asserted
he → settle → power
By contrast, in his view, “artificial intelligence” makes the technology “sound fake.” asserted
technology → make → view
In a Truth Social post earlier Friday, Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping preferred “super intelligence” to the commonly used term. asserted
Jinping → say → term
While Bessent is not being formally considered for the role of AI czar, other contenders include White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios and Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor, according to Semafor. uncertain
contenders → consider → Semafor
David Sacks served as the White House AI and crypto czar until he left the post in March. asserted
he → serve → March
Trump first announced plans last weekend to appoint an AI czar to lead the AI Force, which he compared to the Space Force. asserted
he → announce → Force
The announcement came amid a growing debate over the future of AI development and regulation of frontier AI models. asserted
announcement → come → models
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