As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump was subjected to some of the most brazen examples of weaponized government I’ve ever seen. As president, he’s returned that favor in spades. His latest target is AI giant Anthropic, which just won a major injunction in federal court.
If turnabout is fair play, Trump must be the fairest president in history. During the 2024 campaign, Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg tried to jail Trump under criminal charges so opaque and tortuous few people could understand them. At the same time, New York attorney general Letitia James tried to bankrupt him through an unprecedented civil fraud prosecution and a $500 million judgment that an appellate court has now found unconstitutional. These and other cases were classic examples of politically motivated, unconstitutional selective prosecution.
All of this stoked Trump’s desire to hit back against his critics—which is key to understanding his fight with Anthropic. Having been on the receiving end of lawfare, President Trump could conceivably have forsworn using governmental power against political enemies. Not on your life. Trump turned the tables on day one, when he began targeting elite law firms.
