President Donald Trump said in a Friday interview that he no longer views Anthropic as a national security threat, reversing a position that had sparked a dispute over foreign access to the company's AI models. The remark, his first on the matter since the tension flared, sent odds on the prediction market Polymarket tumbling to 94.7% that Trump would ease security concerns around the firm.
What sparked the reversal
Trump's earlier stance had centered on whether foreign entities—particularly state-backed actors—could gain access to Anthropic's powerful AI systems. The company, known for its Claude models, had been under scrutiny over how it vets international users and partners. The president's Friday interview did not detail specific policy changes, but his shift in tone suggests the administration is backing off from a harder line that had worried investors and AI researchers.
Polymarket odds show traders betting on a softer stance
Polymarket, the crypto-based prediction platform, tracks the probability of political and economic events. After Trump's statement, the contract for “Trump eases Anthropic security fears” fell from near 100% to 94.7%. The move indicates that while the market still expects a favorable outcome, a small slice of traders see lingering risk—perhaps that the president's words don't translate to concrete action. The 5.3-point drop is notable for a market that had been priced as a near-certainty.
What the dispute was about
Months earlier, reports emerged that foreign researchers and companies—some with ties to governments—had used Anthropic's API to probe the model's capabilities and limitations. National security officials flagged the access as a potential avenue for adversaries to reverse-engineer safety guardrails. Anthropic maintained it complies with all export control laws and has strict usage policies. The company declined to comment on the president's latest remarks.
What comes next
No formal policy change has been announced. The administration could issue guidance through the Commerce Department or the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Anthropic, which has raised billions from investors including Google and Amazon, may still face questions from lawmakers who have called for tighter AI export controls. For now, the president's words are the only signal—and traders are reading them as a green light, even if a cautious one.
