Anthropic, the developer of the Claude family of AI models, is facing a fresh political confrontation with the Trump White House just as it prepares for a record-setting IPO. A memo circulating through the Executive Mansion this week lays the groundwork for a political attack wave led by the president's allies over CEO Dario Amodei's AI “doomerism,” according to a document seen by Axios.

The memo, which Axios attributes to a Trump political adviser, characterizes Amodei and his sister, Anthropic president Daniela Amodei, as “The Anthropic knot” — figures who have helped build “the AI-doom pipeline” that is now polarizing opinion over the pace of AI development.

What the White House memo says

The document describes effective altruism — a philosophical movement whose adherents aim to do the most good and have been prominent in warning about long-term risks from advanced AI — as a fringe, cult-like group that does not represent the average American. It also hits familiar conservative talking points, including abortion, veganism, and the idea of granting “digital minds” civil-rights-style protections.

That framing sets up a standoff between MAGA and Silicon Valley, with Anthropic staffers described as “Biden-era liberals, Democrats and strange Californians.”

Citing a source close to the Trump administration, Axios reported that Amodei “is the embodiment of an ideology and globalist approach to innovation that's counter to the president's America First agenda.” The memo further alleges that the Anthropic CEO prioritizes “foreigners over citizens, shrimp over families, future hypothetical people over the living.”

Anthropic has pushed back on the effective altruism label

This is not the first time the effective altruism philosophy has been tethered to Anthropic. Speaking in a 2025 Wired interview, Daniela Amodei said, “I don't identify with that terminology.” Dario Amodei has denied being a member of the movement in multiple press interviews. Amanda Askell, an early Anthropic employee who helps shape Claude's constitution, has likewise refuted effective altruism as “not a theme of the organization.”

Per Axios, citing a senior official, White House officials once canceled a proposed meeting between Trump and Amodei because “Dario's a little too weird” for the president.

Trump and Amodei are facing off again

Amodei and Anthropic have landed on the Trump administration's bad side on multiple occasions, including getting hit with a supply chain designation earlier in the year.

The memo follows a public exchange with the president on September 14, when Trump accused Amodei on Truth Social of “pretending to be a ‘perfect little angel'” after the CEO published an essay urging labs to slow frontier AI development. Trump argued that the only guardrail the industry needs is “a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT.”

Vice President JD Vance was also skeptical, telling reporters it “feels a little bit to me like a bit of a Trojan horse” that so many AI firms are asking to be regulated. Trump's AI adviser David Sacks has also publicly called fears of existential AI risk overblown.

The safety push continues regardless

Elon Musk and OpenAI's Sam Altman agreed with Amodei on the need “to pace the frontier.” OpenAI global policy chief Chris Lehane told reporters on September 15 that his company had been working with Anthropic and Google DeepMind on AI safety for weeks, adding that OpenAI backs a provision in the FRONTIER Act requiring frontier labs to admit “independent verification organizations.” That alignment among rival labs on pacing stands in contrast to the administration's public skepticism, keeping the question of how frontier AI should be overseen contested in Washington.

The timing is awkward for Anthropic's finances. The company has pushed its planned listing from October to November, according to Cryptopolitan, with backers weighing a valuation near $2 trillion and a raise of as much as $100 billion. Its most recent private round valued Anthropic at about $965 billion.

Axios reported that Trump surrogates see Amodei as an easy target ahead of the midterm elections — a prospect the outlet described as worrisome for investors betting on a record IPO.