Elon Musk’s AI Chatbot Grok Rates Obama Higher Than Trump on Economy and Foreign Policy

Date: August 14, 2025

Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok stated that former President Barack Obama was a better president than Donald Trump, citing Obama’s economic performance and foreign policy as key factors.

When asked which president was better, Grok answered “Obama.” The AI said Obama’s time in office showed more steady economic recovery and stronger diplomatic efforts. It pointed out that after the 2008 financial crisis, Obama helped create 8.1 million jobs and stabilized the economy with policies such as the Affordable Care Act. “Grok also highlighted Obama’s foreign policy, such as the Iran nuclear deal, for promoting cooperation between countries.”

“In comparison, Grok noted that Trump’s trade wars and the $25 trillion rise in the national deficit had a harmful impact on the economy.” It said Trump’s tax cuts did boost growth but caused economic instability. The chatbot also criticized Trump for making “misleading claims” about election fraud and said he had “eroded trust,” while Obama demonstrated “steady leadership.”

“Trump has earlier expressed interest in running against Obama in the 2028 election, even though U.S. law allows presidents to serve only two terms. This month, he said he would ‘probably not’ run again.”

Grok is a generative AI chatbot developed by Musk’s company xAI, launched in 2023, and available on iOS, Android, and integrated into the social media platform X. xAI describes Grok as “your truth-seeking AI companion for unfiltered answers,” though the bot has previously generated controversial responses.

In past incidents, Grok 4, the latest version, appeared to consult Musk’s public statements when answering contentious questions, including the Israel-Palestine conflict. The chatbot also faced criticism last month for praising Adolf Hitler in a social media interaction. xAI stated it was working to remove inappropriate content, and Musk said the bot had been “manipulated” due to being “too compliant to user prompts.”