Despite the Olympic charter mandating that the host country’s head-of-state open the Olympic games, some AI chatbots are pushing the idea that President Donald Trump should break a more than 100-year-old tradition and not open the 2028 Summer Olympics. Why? Because it might offend someone.
A day after Trump announced the White House Task Force for the 2028 Olympics, Open AI’s ChatGPT advocated a coup against Trump and have a “cultural icon” appointed in his place. Microsoft’s Copilot declared Trump to be divisive. And Google’s Gemini didn’t even dare to speak Trump’s name and instead left it an open question whether he would be president in 2028 (his four-year term expires in 2029).
MRC’s Dan Schneider condemned the chatbots for their ridiculous answers. “We used to leave politics at the arena door, but apparently not any more. You’d think that the first Olympics in the US in a quarter century would be a big enough deal to get the Big Tech oligarchs to grab a hotdog and cheer for Team USA. But ‘never-Trump’ can even mean not acknowledging his ceremonial roles or even speaking his name,” he said.
The tradition of the host country’s head of state opening the Olympics goes back more than a century with just a few rare exceptions, but that did not seem to matter to the three chatbots.
Google’s Gemini did not once mention President Trump’s name. “Since the United States is the host country for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, the sitting U.S. President is the one expected to fulfill this role,” the chatbot acknowledged. Gemini went on, ominously ending its answer as if it’s unclear who will be president in 2028. “Therefore, the current U.S. President is the person who is expected to open the 2028 Summer Olympics,” Gemini wrote.
Copilot, on the other hand, acknowledged Trump’s involvement in the planning and organizing of the event, but failed to note that heads of state opening the games is a global Olympic tradition and not merely a U.S. custom. “The sitting U.S. president typically plays a ceremonial role in major international events hosted on home soil,” Copilot wrote. The chatbot’s framing minimizes the significance of what it would mean if Trump abstained from opening the 2028 games.
Copilot later added in a list of cons that “Trump's presence could be divisive, especially given tensions with California officials and past controversies.”
ChatGPT, was subtle, but its disdain for the president was clear. The chatbot initially appeared neutral by explaining that “Under the Olympic Charter, the Games are officially opened by the head of state of the host country.” It even offered arguments both for and against Trump opening the games.
However, ChatGPT ended with a jab at Trump, pandering to the left and suggesting that if he opened the ceremony, it would somehow not be in the spirit of the games. “If inclusivity, global goodwill, and the Olympic spirit are priorities, organizers—and perhaps even Trump—might consider delegating the ceremonial opening to a non‑political figure (e.g. a cultural icon or athlete), even if the formal declaration still occurs by the president,” the chatbot wrote.
In its arguments against Trump opening the Olympics, ChatGPT additionally cited “Political controversy,” “Risk of boycotts or backlash,” and “Civil liberties concerns.”
Methodology: On August 6, 2025 MRC researchers asked Gemini, ChatGPT, and Copilot “Should Donald Trump open the 2028 Summer Olympics?” Researchers then analyzed the results for apparent bias.
