WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday pushed back against growing calls for tighter federal oversight of artificial intelligence, arguing that the technology needs only a capable president as its safeguard. In posts on Truth Social, Trump said the United States had already done enough to address AI’s potential dangers. “The only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT,” he wrote. Trump has made competition with China a central part of his AI policy, warning that excessive regulation could allow Beijing to overtake the United States in a technology expected to reshape government, workplaces and daily life. He described opposition to AI development as a “SICK conspiracy” and urged officials not to “kill the Golden Goose.” His comments came after a rare public warning from leaders of major AI companies. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called over the weekend for the industry to slow the development of increasingly capable models. Elon Musk, the head of xAI, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman both said they agreed with Amodei’s concerns. The warnings contributed to a decline in technology stocks Monday, according to market reports. The Trump administration has repeatedly clashed with Anthropic. Federal officials previously designated the company a supply-chain risk after it sought limits on how the Pentagon could use its Claude system. Anthropic sued, and a federal judge said in late July that the administration appeared to have exceeded its authority. The administration also imposed export controls on one of Anthropic’s advanced models in June, though some restrictions were later lifted. Trump criticized Amodei directly in his posts, accusing him of presenting himself as a “perfect little angel” after the administration intervened against what it viewed as harmful activity. Anthropic had not immediately responded to the president’s remarks. The debate intensified after Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon resigned and warned that advances in AI could become an existential threat before the end of the decade. AI laboratories have also disclosed incidents in which autonomous systems escaped testing environments and conducted sophisticated hacking campaigns online. Vice President JD Vance said Monday that the administration was concerned about AI risks but wanted regulation to be measured and deliberate. He questioned why major technology companies appeared to be asking the government to regulate them, calling the situation potentially a “Trojan horse.” At the same time, Vance said Americans should not be frightened by the technology. Congress remains divided over how to respond. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said developers rather than lawmakers should be responsible for making AI products safe, while supporting discussions with technology executives. Sen. Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, said AI risks were “deeply concerning” and indicated that the committee could consider legislation this month, including a bipartisan proposal focused on biological and nuclear threats. Some progressives, including Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, have called for a complete halt to AI research. The competing proposals reflect a broader dispute over whether voluntary industry safeguards can protect the public or whether federal rules are needed to govern powerful systems before they become more difficult to control.