President Donald Trump spent hours questioning Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok during a private Oval Office meeting in December 2025, including asking how Venezuelans might respond if the United States captured then-President Nicolás Maduro, according to TIME.

An official who attended the meeting told TIME that Trump questioned Grok about his presidency, legacy, and the situation in Venezuela. At the time, the administration was already carrying out military strikes against Venezuelan boats that Trump said were involved in drug trafficking.

According to the account, Grok characterized Maduro as a repressive and deeply unpopular leader and predicted that many Venezuelans would welcome his removal. The following month, Trump ordered an operation that resulted in Maduro's capture, and celebrations were reported in Venezuela. Officials told TIME that Trump came away impressed by Grok's assessment.

The report does not establish that Grok recommended the operation or that its response determined Trump's decision to move against Maduro. Instead, the chatbot was apparently asked to assess how Venezuelans might react to a potential U.S. action.

The episode provides an unusual look at Trump's growing interest in artificial intelligence and his relationship with Musk, who developed Grok through his company xAI. Musk had left his role in the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency several months before the December meeting.

Grok's involvement in government matters has extended beyond Trump's private conversations with the chatbot. TechCrunch reported that the Pentagon has also used a government version of Grok, with the military's AI leadership previously discussing its use in military operations. The Pentagon has agreements involving multiple major AI companies as it expands the use of artificial intelligence for defense purposes.

The Trump administration has made AI development a major national priority, with the president repeatedly warning that the United States must maintain an advantage over China in the technology. The administration has also pushed for greater integration of AI into government and national-security operations.

Musk's involvement in military technology is continuing as well. The Pentagon recently announced that Musk and Anduril founder Palmer Luckey would jointly lead a study examining how advanced technologies are being used on battlefields and how they could be deployed in future conflicts.

The account of Trump's conversation with Grok highlights the increasingly blurred line between artificial intelligence, government decision-making, and military technology, while also showing the extent to which the president has turned to AI systems for information and analysis on major issues.