Photo via The Independent

Americans loathe how Trump is handling AI and the numbers keep getting worse

Read the original at The Independent ↗
Cite

Dobkin, R. (2026, September 14). Americans loathe how Trump is handling AI and the numbers keep getting worse. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-ai-poll-anthropic-b3050138.html

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

The Independent · collected 2026-09-14 · by Rachel Dobkin

Quick Summary

A recent poll from the University of Massachusetts Amherst reveals that only 23 percent of Americans approve of President Donald Trump's handling of artificial intelligence (AI), while 57 percent disapprove. CNN’s Chief Data Analyst Harry Enten notes this has worsened since March, with independents holding Trump particularly accountable at a 61-point deficit. The article highlights Trump’s stance on minimal AI regulation despite growing public and industry concerns about the technology's safety and potential risks.
Written by AI on 2026-09-14, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

A new poll from the University of Massachusetts Amherst shows that 23% of Americans believe President Donald Trump is handling artificial intelligence (AI) well, while 57% think he’s handling it poorly. According to CNN's Chief Data Analyst Harry Enten, Trump’s net approval rating for AI stands at -34 points overall and has worsened since March when it was around -25 points. Trump, who frequently uses AI-generated content on social media like a photo of himself as Jesus and a video showing the Obamas as apes, supports fewer regulations on AI, while major tech companies are advocating for stricter safety measures.

Written for “Trump AI Handling Approval” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Trump AI Handling Approval
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans strongly left and hedges 12% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Bulwark
⚖️ Leans left further right than this Hedges 4 of 9 claims
“The articles discuss different aspects of Trump's stance on AI: one focuses on a hypothetical policy proposal and its implications, while the other reports on public opinion poll results regarding how Trump is handling AI.”
Los Angeles Times
⚖️ Leans right further right than this Hedges 10 of 54 claims Outlet record 95/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of President Trump's handling of AI, with Article A focusing on his statements and an upcoming summit, while Article B reports on a new poll about public opinion.”
The Bulwark
⚖️ Leans left further right than this Hedges 8 of 99 claims
“The articles discuss different aspects related to AI and politics, but do not describe the same specific incident.”
Toronto Star
Hedges 4 of 28 claims Outlet record 64/100
“Article A describes Trump's comments and stance on AI regulation, while Article B reports on a poll about public opinion of how Trump is handling AI. They describe related but different events.”
Washington Examiner
Hedges 1 of 11 claims Outlet record 70/100
“Article A reports on Trump's statement dismissing concerns about AI, while Article B discusses a poll about public opinion of how Trump is handling AI. These are different events occurring at different times.”
The Independent
Hedges 2 of 50 claims Outlet record 59/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of Trump's handling of AI—one focuses on his stance as a guardrail against AI risks, while the other reports on public sentiment and poll results regarding his management of AI.”
The Dispatch
⚖️ Leans left further right than this Hedges 0 of 2 claims Outlet record 61/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of AI sentiment and policy debates, not a single specific event.”
CBS News
Hedges 2 of 23 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of public opinion towards AI, with Article A focusing on President Trump's handling of AI and Article B focusing on Americans' concerns about the development and regulation of AI.”
South China Morning Post
Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 64/100
“Article A describes Trump's condemnation of a 'sick conspiracy' against AI, while Article B reports on a poll about Americans' opinion of how Trump is handling AI.”
The Hindu
Hedges 4 of 26 claims Outlet record 60/100
“While both articles discuss Trump's stance on artificial intelligence on the same day, Article A reports directly on Trump's comments dismissing calls for AI oversight, whereas Article B covers a poll reaction to how Americans perceive Trump handling AI.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
26
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
12%
3 of 26 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans strongly left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
59/100
The Independent's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-14 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Independent · 3401 article(s) · 7 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 7 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Rachel Dobkin
98 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 While Trump may have been busy Thursday, he just cleared out his weekend rally schedule.
🔮 The heat on Trump was turned up when The Wall Street Journal released an article in July 2025 about a bawdy birthday letter Trump reportedly wrote to Epstein in 2003, that read: “May every day be another wonderful secret.”
🔮 Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced that he will allow the widespread use of unapproved peptide injections despite the Food and Drug Administration previously advising people not to use them.
🔮 Donald Trump’s favorite pollster, Harry Enten from CNN, has predicted that Democrats will win big in next Tuesday’s midterm elections and have a substantial majority in the House of Representatives.
🔮 He will be in Ohio Wednesday to campaign with Vivek Ramaswamy and Sen. Jon Husted, whose body he has taken to admiring lately.
🔮 Log in President Donald Trump has revealed the one condition that will get him to accept the results of the upcoming midterm elections, even if his party loses races.
🔮 Trump has insisted throughout the war that it would be a quick operation, but it has now dragged on for nearly eight months.
🔮 Trump has said it will cost about $400 million to build his dream ballroom and promised he and other donors would pay for it.
🔮 The same could not be said for another member of the progressive House group AOC is part of, called “The Squad.” The president continued his attacks against Representative Ilhan Omar from Minnesota Sunday, calling her a “little troublemaker.” “She comes from Somalia — probably, maybe the worst country in the world,” Trump said.
🔮 Trump said El-Sayed “should never be allowed inside the halls of our great, beautiful Capitol building in Washington, D.C.,” adding that his supporters will elect his pick, Mike Rogers, a former Republican congressman, to the U.S. Senate.
Also by Rachel Dobkin
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 98 articles by Rachel Dobkin →

Topics

American Americans CNN Enten the University of Massachusetts Amherst

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 11× Americans NORP · 4× American NORP · 2× CNN ORG · 2× China GPE · 2× Donald Trump PERSON · 2× Enten PERSON · 2× Harry Enten PERSON · 1× Obamas PERSON · 1× the University of Massachusetts Amherst ORG · 1×

Narrative

The president —known for his own rampant use of AI-generated images and videos on social media, including a photo depicting himself as Jesus and a video depicting the Obamas as apes — has pushed for fewer regulations on the technology as the biggest AI companies called for a slowdown in development in the name of safety. “You would have to combine [French ocean explorer] Jacques Cousteau with The Little Mermaid to get as far underwater as Donald Trump is with independents on AI,” Enten said on CNN Monday.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-14
🔮 The president —known for his own rampant use of AI-generated images and videos on social media, including a photo depicting himself as Jesus and a video depicting the Obamas as apes — has pushed for fewer regulations on the technology as the biggest AI companies called for a slowdown in development in the name of safety. “You would have to combine [French ocean explorer] Jacques Cousteau with The Little Mermaid to get as far underwater as Donald Trump is with independents on AI,” Enten said on CNN Monday.
2026-09-14 · The Independent
Americans loathe how Trump is handling AI and the numbers keep getting worse · assertive framing

Claims (26 extracted, 3 hedged)

A new poll has shown just how much Americans loathe the way President Donald Trump is handling artificial intelligence. asserted
Trump → show → intelligence
Just 23 percent of Americans believe Trump has handled artificial intelligence well, while 57 percent say he’s handled the issue poorly, according to a survey from the University of Massachusetts Amherst published Monday. “The American people despise President Trump when it comes to his handling of artificial intelligence,” CNN’s Chief Data Analyst Harry Enten told viewers Monday. uncertain
Enten → believe → viewers
That’s approval minus disapproval. asserted
That → ’ → ?
Look at this overall — he’s 34 points underwater! asserted
he → look → this
And somehow, that’s become worse over the course of the year because back in March, he was closer to around 25 points underwater,” Enten said, noting that Trump was 61 points underwater with independents on the issue. asserted
Trump → become → issue
The president —known for his own rampant use of AI-generated images and videos on social media, including a photo depicting himself as Jesus and a video depicting the Obamas as apes — has pushed for fewer regulations on the technology as the biggest AI companies called for a slowdown in development in the name of safety. “You would have to combine [French ocean explorer] Jacques Cousteau with The Little Mermaid to get as far underwater as Donald Trump is with independents on AI,” Enten said on CNN Monday. asserted
Enten → know → CNN
“As I said, the American people, and independents especially, absolutely despise President Trump when it comes to this issue that is becoming even more key as we lead up to the midterm elections.” asserted
we → say → elections
AI has taken over the stock market, with chipmaker Nvidia being valued at more than $5 trillion, and it has woven into the lives of everyday Americans as they ask their chatbots how to use the ingredients in their fridge to make dinner or how to let their date know that there won’t be a second one. asserted
date → take → dinner
But behind the AI buzz emerged a fear of what the technology is actually capable of, with former Anthropic employee Jacob Coxon warning amid his resignation last week, “The people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade.” uncertain
it → emerge → decade
Trump has brushed off serious concerns about the safety of AI amid reports of the technology hacking into external systems and being used to answer questions about how to make biological weapons. asserted
technology → brush → weapons
“We’ve seen a lot of concerning reports about AI. asserted
We → see → AI
Should the AI industry slow down or be more regulated?” a reporter asked Trump at the Irish Open Sunday. asserted
reporter → slow → Open
“We’re leading China in AI,” Trump replied. asserted
Trump → lead → AI
“We’re the most sophisticated country in the world. asserted
We → ’re → world
And frankly, I want to keep it that way because whoever wins AI, wins.” asserted
wins → want → AI
The president said the U.S. “could put guardrails, we can do this and that, but I think you have a lot of negative forces that are bringing it up that shouldn’t be bringing it up. uncertain
that → say → it
And they’re bringing up things that won’t happen.” asserted
that → bring → things
Trump then went on a social media posting spree, calling concerns about AI a “hoax.” asserted
Trump → go → AI
“There is a SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers, and the only one that is happy about it is China,” he wrote on Truth Social Monday. asserted
he → be → Social
Aside from concerns about the potentially dangerous capabilities of AI, many Americans are worried about the construction of data centers that power the technology, citing negative impacts on the environment and their quality of life. asserted
that → power → life
“[Trump] looks at the polling. asserted
Trump → look → polling
He looks at what people are saying,” a senior White House official told Politico earlier this month. asserted
official → look → Politico
“Polling isn’t necessarily great on data centers, but it’s incumbent upon us to explain our position. asserted
it → ’ → position
I think that’s part of what he was trying to do.” asserted
he → think → what
In Trump-fashion, the president blamed members of the Democratic Party for a surge in concerns about AI, writing in one of his Truth Social posts Monday, “These are all Radical Left Dumocrats, who never give up, but seldom win. asserted
who → blame → posts
Hopefully, the Voters have seen the light!” asserted
Voters → see → light
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support