Even as President Donald Trump's own administration quietly splits over whether to rein in artificial intelligence, the president himself is not losing any sleep over warnings that the technology could wipe out humanity, delivering a familiar refrain that it is all merely a "hoax."

The rift has split his cabinet, according to The Atlantic. Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are seen as open to regulation, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick wants Washington to stay out of the way, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth cut ties with Anthropic, makers of Claude, after it refused to drop safeguards against mass surveillance and autonomous killing.

But Trump, for his part, is focused on something else entirely, according to the report.

In a barrage of Truth Social posts on Monday, he waved off the mounting alarm and insisted the technology needs no real oversight.

"AI taking over the World, destroying Humanity, and all other things bad, is a HOAX," Trump wrote, lumping the fears in with the Russia investigation and his own impeachments. The only guardrail required, he added, is "a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT," and he crowned himself the "Hoax Buster."

His dismissal comes as AI leaders call for a slowdown, with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei urging the industry to "pace the frontier", and a company researcher recently quitting and warning that developers "earnestly believe" the technology "could kill us all by the end of the decade."

For his part, Trump mocked Amodei as a "perfect little angel."

Vice President JD Vance floated a darker theory about why AI firms suddenly care about being reined in.

"It feels a little bit to me like a bit of a Trojan horse," he said.

Trump's screed instantly backfired online, and lawmakers across the aisle have warned the country is racing toward a crisis. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is convening a bipartisan briefing and joining Steve Bannon at a "Pro-Human Assembly," has warned that Trump's ignorance on the subject is extremely dangerous, and even Republicans like Sen. Ted Cruz are demanding far tougher rules.

The president's real fear reportedly has nothing to do with humanity's collective safety.

One ally told The Atlantic that Trump worries a halt to the AI boom could tip the economy into recession, threatening the soaring markets he views as his scorecard.

OpenAI's Sam Altman has suggested that if Trump strikes an AI safety deal with China's Xi Jinping at next week's White House summit, the president could finally win his long-coveted Nobel Peace Prize.

Texas Republicans are turning on Gov. Greg Abbott, accusing their own party leader of pouring gasoline on a racism scandal instead of putting it out.

The firestorm started Sunday when Bo French, the GOP nominee for Texas Railroad Commissioner, posted a photo of University of Texas football fans, "most of them people of color," writing that "the problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined," according to Politico. The post appeared to target South Asian students and sent Texas Republicans into a panic over the damage it could do "down the ballot," including Attorney General Ken Paxton's struggling Senate bid and Abbott's own reelection.

According to a report, Abbott tried to distance himself in a Sunday statement, saying French's post "is not my message" — then immediately pivoted to touting his immigration crackdown, insisting unity "doesn't mean that Texas cannot also lead in having the toughest immigration laws of any state in America and freezing H1B visas at our universities."

That response is what really set off Republicans and created a "blast radius" that has set off GOP infighting.

"It's pretty damn disgusting of Greg Abbott to say, 'I condemn racism, but also, like, we're keeping all the Indians out.' That's essentially what that tweet read to me," Anang Mittal, an Indian American national GOP strategist told Politico before noting the students in French's photo were likely on student visas, not H-1Bs.

Matt Mackowiak, an Austin GOP consultant who advised Cornyn's failed primary bid against Paxton, said French's post alone was already a disaster. "His post on social media is profoundly unhelpful if his goal is to see Republicans win statewide races in a tough political environment in 50 days," Mackowiak said.

Austin consultant Brendan Steinhauser, a UT graduate, warned French may have alienated voters Republicans need.

"He just irritated a bunch of people, many of whom could be supporters and could be Republicans," Steinhauser said, adding that many of those students' families likely lean conservative.

The infighting lands as Texas Republicans already fear losing Hispanic and other minority voters this cycle, Politico reported.

The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee is investigating a Russian oligarch's reported financial involvement in a celebration tied to Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding.

Axios reported that Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) sent letters to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and to Trump Jr. himself seeking documents related to Umar Kremlev, the Russia-based president of the International Boxing Association, who ProPublica revealed had bankrolled hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses for a May party in the Bahamas connected to the wedding.

"Oversight Democrats are investigating the numerous ways in which the Trump family have sought to enrich themselves on the basis of their proximity to President Donald Trump," Garcia wrote to Wiles. In his letter to Trump Jr., Garcia said ProPublica's reporting "may be the most serious allegation against you to date."

Kremlev, whose boxing organization is financed by Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom and who has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, paid for one of two private islands used for the event and a fireworks display, according to ProPublica, despite Trump Jr.'s estimated $300 million net worth.

A spokesperson for President Donald Trump's eldest son did not dispute the payments, telling ProPublica that Kremlev is "a personal friend" but "not someone he has a business relationship with."

Kremlev's press office said the two have had "a friendly relationship" for a couple of years and that Kremlev has never discussed politics with his American friends.

Trump Jr.'s wife, Bettina Anderson, wrote on Instagram that it was "unfortunate that something so personal and happy can be recast as something political or sinister."

The president told Axios he has "no idea who Umar is" and said the Kremlev-funded gathering was a separate afterparty he did not attend.

Garcia is asking the White House to turn over all communications concerning Kremlev, and is pressing Trump Jr. for a full guest list, records of his contact with Kremlev, any communications with intelligence officials about him and documentation of gifts or purchases made by foreign nationals.

As the Oversight Committee's ranking member, Garcia can currently only make voluntary requests for information from the administration and the Trump family.

That would change if Democrats retake the House majority in next year's midterms, handing him subpoena power as committee chairman.