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Trump says Treasury’s Scott Bessent will not be his AI czar

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The Straits Times. (2026, September 25). Trump says Treasury’s Scott Bessent will not be his AI czar. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/trump-says-treasurys-scott-bessent-will-not-be-his-ai-czar

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

The Straits Times · collected 2026-09-25 · by The Straits Times

Quick Summary

Donald Trump announced on September 25 that Scott Bessent from the US Treasury would not become his AI czar, stating that Bessent prefers to stay in his current position and is doing a great job there. The president had previously mentioned plans to appoint an AI adviser and create an "AI force," but did not provide details on these initiatives or who might fill the role of AI czar. Earlier, Bessent led discussions with Chinese officials about artificial intelligence safety and national security concerns during talks in New York.
Written by AI on 2026-10-02, 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 2026-11-05, 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 unscored and hedges 14% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Trump confirms Bessent will not be ‘super intelligence’ czar Same event
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 1 of 15 claims Outlet record 69/100
Trump says he will create 'AI Force,' appoint czar to oversee industry Different event
UPI
Hedges 1 of 15 claims Outlet record 56/100
“The articles describe different stages of Trump's announcement and decision-making process regarding an AI czar, not a single identical incident.”
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
“The articles describe different stages of Trump's decision-making regarding his AI czar: Article A confirms Bessent will not be appointed, while Article B discusses potential candidates for the position.”
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
“The articles describe different meetings and timelines involving Trump regarding AI.”
Trumps says the U.S. will 'only encourage superintelligence' in AI Different event
NBC News
Outlet record 78/100
“The articles describe different statements by Trump regarding AI policy and personnel decisions.”
Trump gambles with bold midterms move as he unveils 'Super Intelligence' despite Democrat fears Different event
Daily Mail
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 1 of 22 claims Outlet record 69/100
“The articles describe different events related to Trump's stance and actions regarding AI, with Article A specifically addressing Scott Bessent not becoming the AI czar, while Article B discusses Trump unveiling a new name for artificial intelligence.”
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 of whether Scott Bessent will take on an AI czar role — one suggests it's possible while the other confirms he won't.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
14
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
14%
2 of 14 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
66/100
The Straits Times'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

The Straits Times
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 2924 articles by The Straits Times →

Topics

Chinese Republican Treasury US Treasury WASHINGTON

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 5× Scott Bessent PERSON · 3× WASHINGTON GPE · 3× Bessent PERSON · 2× Chinese NORP · 2× Republican NORP · 2× Treasury ORG · 2× Donald Trump’s PERSON · 1× He Lifeng PERSON · 1× US Treasury ORG · 1×

Narrative

Last week, Trump said he plans to appoint an artificial intelligence adviser, known as an “AI czar,” and create an “AI force,” though he gave no details about either initiative or how they would be implemented.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-25
🔮 Trump says Treasury’s Scott Bessent will not be his AI czar AI generated
2026-09-25 · The Straits Times
Trump says Treasury’s Scott Bessent will not be his AI czar · assertive framing

Claims (14 extracted, 2 hedged)

Trump says Treasury’s Scott Bessent will not be his AI czar AI generated asserted
Bessent → say → AI
Scott Bessent will not be Donald Trump’s AI czar, the Republican president said on Sept 25, adding that he wants his US Treasury secretary to remain in his current role. asserted
secretary → say → role
“Scott Bessent will not be going to be Super Intelligence (SI) Czar. asserted
Bessent → go → ?
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?” Trump said, in a social media post, using his preferred term for artificial intelligence. asserted
Trump → make → intelligence
Last week, Trump said he plans to appoint an artificial intelligence adviser, known as an “AI czar,” and create an “AI force,” though he gave no details about either initiative or how they would be implemented. asserted
they → say → initiative
Some had seen Bessent as a frontrunner for the role. asserted
Some → see → role
On Sept 20, he had led talks heavily focused on AI with Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng in New York, ahead of this week’s summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington. asserted
he → lead → Washington
Bessent told reporters after the talks that the US side had proposed an AI safety notification mechanism and bilateral dialogue on the issue, with a particular emphasis on national security concerns. asserted
side → tell → concerns
The White House did not immediately provide details on who might be tapped for its AI czar. uncertain
who → provide → czar
Trump has repeatedly downplayed concerns about AI and argued that additional regulation is unnecessary even as fears grow among lawmakers in Washington and globally about risks posed by the technology. asserted
fears → downplay → technology
Top AI researchers have warned that people building AI believe it could kill humans within a decade, following cases of AI agents going rogue to hack external systems. uncertain
agents → warn → systems
Several Democratic and Republican lawmakers have responded with alarm and calls for more action. asserted
lawmakers → respond → action
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