Leo Hohmann – Leo’s Newsletter Oct 8, 2026
The emperor has spoken!
Donald Trump says if you do not call artificial intelligence by the name he has chosen for it, you are an enemy of the people!
Yes, you read that right. The president of the United States just issued a threat to all Americans who defy his orders by continuing to refer to AI as AI.
Trump posted on Truth Social:
“The White House considers anyone that uses the term, ‘Artificial Intelligence,’ as opposed to the highly accepted new and more accurate term, ‘Super Intelligence,’ THE ENEMY!”
Business Insider reports, and I agree, that this sounds like a threat. And it’s patently illegal for the government to be making threats against its citizens who use speech it doesn’t like.
Business Insider writes:
“Trump’s statement suggests the White House may punish companies or individuals who do not abide by its preferred speech, which would be a potential textbook First Amendment violation if enforced.”
Even if this edict is not “enforced,” it’s still reprehensible because it will have a chilling effect on speech. There will be companies and individuals who were not planning to use the term “Super Intelligence” but now they will use it out of fear that the heavy hand of government could come down on them if they don’t.
Trump may be throwing this out there as a test of his power. And it will be interesting to see how many people and corporate entities bow down to Trump on this issue and start using his rebranded name for AI. I will not.
Whether people want to wake up and acknowledge it or not, America now has a full on dictator in the White House. At the very least, he’s a dictator wannabe. He claims the powers of a king, not a president, when he thinks he can demand people use his branding under threat of violent repercussions.
What is he going to do, send the FBI to your house if you continue to use the term “artificial intelligence?”
He calls the refusniks “enemies.” That’s a powerful word. Historically, this is the language of communist or fascist governments, who arbitrarily declare political opponents to be “enemies of the people” or “enemies of the state.”
That kind of rhetoric from a top political office holder has no place in a country claiming to be a constitutional republic.
I have been saying for years that America is no longer a constitutional republic, that it strayed far away from that form of government after September 11, 2001, when Congress passed legislation giving the government broad new powers to invade our privacy, spy on us, search us, and basically do whatever it wants to us in the name of “national security.”
But now we have a president who isn’t even invoking the catch-all “national security” net as justification for threatening violence against citizens exercising their God-given right to free speech.
In this same vein, the White House has launched another bizarre program aimed at squelching free speech. It announced yesterday, October 7, it has created a new “Federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism” and will be sending out the U.S. Department of Justice on a nationwide tour to try and stamp it out.
Antisemitism, just like any form of racism, is a form of hateful speech. Being hateful toward any ethnic or religious group is not advisable. If you let hate, which is a human emotion related to anger, consume you, it will destroy your soul.
Kept under control, however, anger is a normal human emotion. And totally legal!
And what our Founding Fathers understood was that by allowing people to express themselves verbally and let off steam by venting against whoever or whatever they hate, it actually helps to keep the peace. That’s the sign of a healthy and free society.
When you try to suppress the free expression of thoughts, that’s when you run the risk that people will turn to violence to express themselves.
It is simply not the government’s place to be in any way trying to restrict the free expression of normal human emotions. Yes, these emotions can be misdirected but it’s usually self-evident when someone says something hateful. They look stupid. Nobody wants to emulate them. But by oppressing and supressing people exercising free speech, no matter how unpopular or distasteful, you are making them into martyrs who others will want to follow.
In the October 7 press release announcing the new federal task force, the White House writes:
The Task Force’s national campaign reflects the Trump Administration’s steadfast commitment to eradicating antisemitism across the country. The Department of Justice, as the agency responsible for enforcing the nation’s civil rights laws, is carrying out the President’s mission.
The Tour is a first-of-its-kind federal initiative, bringing government resources and officials directly to local communities experiencing hate and discrimination.
“President Trump has made clear that this Administration will not tolerate antisemitism, and the Department of Justice is committed to implementing that directive,” said Attorney General Todd Blanche. “This national tour is an important step in ensuring communities across the country know the federal government stands ready to work with them to confront antisemitic threats, protect public safety, and uphold civil rights.”
Note how the emperor brags this is a “first-of-its-kind initiative.” I can assure you it won’t be the last of its kind. When the Democrats get back in power, they will seize upon the precedent being set here by announcing they will unleash a new federal task force to go around the country hunting for Americans guilty of “Islamophobia” or “transphobia.”
What’s good for one is good for the other. And Trump is playing the role of divider-in-chief. All you Republicans out there who think it’s cool to use state power to “combat antisemitism,” whatever that entails, will have nothing to say when the Democrats roll out their goon squads against those of us on the right.
It’s disturbing enough when you consider the legal, political and constitutional repercussions of a president making such outrageous claims to raw power.
In his mind, he can force us to use a rebranded term for artificial intelligence and he can force us to not express hateful thoughts against one certain ethnic minority (I’m assuming it’s OK to express such thoughts against all the other minorities since there’s no federal task force hunting for those haters).
But the spiritual implications of Trump’s statement, especially regarding AI, may be even more disturbing.
It’s almost like he is declaring take note: This technology is my god and I demand that you offer up sufficient adoration to it. Calling it artificial is no longer acceptable, and if you don’t bow down to my wishes and call it by the proper reverent name it deserves, then you will be punished!
Let me know in the comments what you think could be the motivating factors behind one of Trump’s most outrageous statements yet.
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