Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) displayed an apocalyptic tone in voicing fears about the dangers of artificial intelligence and bashed leaders of major AI development companies for what he called an undemocratic manner of decision-making. Speaking at Tuesday’s “Pro-Human Assembly 2026,”
Page A2From§Eachthe early bird edition — 15 September 2026
THE COALITION
Blanche calls AI fears a Democrat hoax, undone by Trump's own ally onstage with Sanders demanding it stop
As it ran on the front
Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters this week that the debate over artificial intelligence's dangers is a hoax, engineered by Democrats fifty days before the midterms. He said the whole thing only exploded now because of the election calendar. Note the date, because the record does not agree with him.
The debate started September 3, when Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Greg Casar introduced the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act, legislation they said was written to stop AI companies from building machines humans cannot control — language chosen after a rash of incidents involving rogue AI agents. A week later, on September 10, Sanders scheduled a bipartisan hearing on what he called the "extraordinary dangers" of unregulated AI, set for September 16 — tomorrow. That same week, a poll found 68% of voters backing the pause-and-ban proposal Sanders and Casar had just introduced.…
…(cont) Then came the stage. On Tuesday, at the "Pro-Human Assembly 2026" in Washington, the Vermont socialist stood next to the former Trump adviser, and the two of them agreed on something: rein in AI, "humans first," before Big Tech oligarchs finish deciding for the rest of us. Parents were there. Religious leaders were there. Artists were there. Reporters in the room noted that partisanship took a back seat.
That is the week Blanche chose to call the danger fake. Not a quiet week where only Democrats were saying it — the same week Trump's own former adviser stood on a stage demanding the exact law Sanders introduced twelve days earlier, with a hearing already on the calendar and two-thirds of the country already agreeing before Blanche opened his mouth. If this is a hoax built for November, it enlisted a strange volunteer: the president's own man.
The administration wants acceleration. Sanders wants a ban. The former Trump adviser standing next to him is standing with the ban anyway. That is not two parties finding a talking point together for a camera. That is a governing coalition splitting in public, in real time, over a technology neither side controls.
The hearing is tomorrow. The bill has a number attached to it: 68%. The hoax claim has neither.
“This ain't Democrats making things up — the bill's got a date, the hearing's got a date, and it just picked up an endorsement from Steve Bannon, of all people. When Trump's own former adviser gets on a stage with Bernie Sanders to say slow the hell down, and the only answer out of the Justice Department is "nah, that's a hoax for the midterms," you know they're not arguing about the danger. They're worried about the vote count.”
“Look, the Attorney General's just saying what everybody at that podium already knows — timing matters, optics matter, and pointing out an election is fifty days out isn't a conspiracy, it's math. Sure, Bannon happened to be standing next to Sanders, but people share stages all the time, that doesn't mean — wait, did I just say our own guy is out there validating the socialist's bill? That's not — that's not what I meant.”
The receipts
Attorney General Todd Blanche sought to clarify President Donald Trump’s criticism of the calls for an artificial intelligence development slowdown as a “hoax,” contending the issue is only being discussed now because November’s midterm elections are 50 days away. Blanche told reporters that what Trump described as a “hoax”
At an event in Washington, partisanship took a back seat as elected officials, religious leaders, parents and artists called for reining in artificial intelligence.
As AI CEOs call for a slowdown, President Trump wants acceleration. But the issue is gaining bipartisan momentum.
Calls have reached a fever pitch recently for government action on AI. CBS News' Jo Ling Kent, Ed O'Keefe and Ryan McGee have more.
Sen. Bernie Sanders is one of the most vocal opponents in Congress on rapid AI development, but bipartisan concerns are growing.
· Sanders, Casar Proposal Would Forbid 'AI Oligarchs From Building Machines Humans Cannot Control' from the morgue, 3 Sep 2026
· Bernie Sanders introduces bill to ban artificial superintelligence from the morgue, 3 Sep 2026
· Twenty years in prison for writing code: Bernie Sanders wages nuclear war on AI from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026
· Sanders Sets Briefing on 'Extraordinary Dangers' Posed by Breakneck AI Development from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026
· 68% of US Voters Back Sanders/Casar Bill for AI Pause, Ban on Superintelligence: Poll from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front. The byline is a pen name for a column drafted by a machine and checked by the editor: how this is made.