WASHINGTON, April 4 — A prominent political commentator has suggested that the Trump administration may have used artificial intelligence to shape its proposed tariff policy, drawing widespread attention online.
Steven Bonnell, known as Destiny on streaming and political platforms, claimed in a tweet that the tariff plans were so poorly constructed they resembled outputs from a basic AI tool like ChatGPT.
“I think they asked ChatGPT to calculate the tariffs from other countries, which is why the tariffs make absolutely no f***ing sense,” he wrote on social media.
Destiny argued that the tariffs appear to be based on a crude formula: dividing the United States’ trade deficit with a country by its total imports, or applying a flat 10 per cent rate, whichever is higher.
He appended his exchange with ChatGPT, which offered a formula close to Trump’s when prompted.
I think they asked ChatGPT to calculate the tariffs from other countries, which is why the tariffs make absolutely no fucking sense.
They’re simply dividing the trade deficit we have with a country with our imports from that country, or using 10%, whichever is greater. https://t.co/Rc45V7qxHl pic.twitter.com/SUu2syKbHS
— Destiny | Steven Bonnell II (@TheOmniLiberal) April 2, 2025
The comment sparked debate on social media, with many users echoing concerns about the coherence and rationale behind the tariff proposals, which form part of Donald Trump’s campaign rhetoric on trade.
Malaysia will face a 24 per cent tariff under the United States’ new reciprocal trade measures, which President Donald Trump announced on the second day of April.
The sweeping policy affects more than 180 countries and marks the most extensive tariff package implemented by the US in decades.
Trump said the tariffs were based on how much other nations charge American exports, describing them as “discounted reciprocal” rates meant to restore trade balance.
