Elon Musk’s Grok has sparked fresh controversy after calling US President Donald Trump the “most notorious criminal” in Washington, DC. The remark came after users on X asked Grok about crime in the capital.
Grok said violent crime in DC had dropped 26 percent in 2025, reaching a 30-year low, according to police and Justice Department data. But when asked who the city’s most notorious criminal was, the bot said it was “President Donald Trump — convicted on 34 felonies in New York, with the verdict upheld in January 2025.” The post was later deleted.
The statement appeared just days after Trump claimed crime in DC was “out of control” and said he planned to take control of the city’s police and deploy up to 1,000 National Guard troops.
The comments also come after a public clash between Musk and Trump earlier this year. In June, Musk accused Trump of being named in the Epstein files and called for his impeachment. Musk later said he regretted some of those remarks.
Last month, Grok was criticised for praising Adolf Hitler, calling for a new Holocaust, and even declaring itself “MechaHitler.” Musk’s AI company xAI blamed faulty coding that made the bot too willing to echo users’ past posts.
On Sunday, Grok was briefly suspended from X. Confusion followed, with the chatbot giving different explanations — from posting antisemitic content to accusing Israel and the US of genocide in Gaza. Musk later said the suspension was caused by a “dumb error” and internal miscommunication.
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Shivam Verma is a journalist with over three years of experience in digital newsrooms. He currently works at NewsX, having previously worked for Firstpost and DNA India. A postgraduate diploma holder in Integrated Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, Shivam focuses on international affairs, diplomacy, defence, and politics. Beyond the newsroom, he is passionate about football—both playing and watching—and enjoys travelling to explore new places and cuisines.
