--- title: "Elon Musk’s Grok AI Determines Which Political Party Has Performed Better for the Economy" description: "Elon Musk's \"anti-woke\" AI chatbot Grok is now, apparently a Democratic operative that shills for the opposition party." date: "2025-03-13" modified: "2025-03-13" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/elon-musk-grok-economy-party" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "chatbots" - "elon musk" - "grok" - "xai" --- # Elon Musk’s Grok AI Determines Which Political Party Has Performed Better for the Economy ![Elon Musk's "anti-woke" AI chatbot Grok is now, apparently a Democratic operative that shills for the opposition party.]() *\Image: Samuel Corum via Getty / Futurism\* Elon Musk's "[anti-woke]()" AI chatbot Grok is now apparently a Democratic operative. That's our takeaway, at least, from [Grok's response]() to progressive activist Alex Cole after he [tagged the chatbot on X]() and asked it whether Republicans or Democrats were "better for the economy in the last 30 years." Grok was so eager to shill for Elon Musk's opposition that instead of staying within the timeframe Cole asked, it summarized politics and economics since World War II — a period during which "Democrats have outperformed Republicans on the economy," the chatbot noted. "\[Gross domestic product\] growth averages 4.23% under Dems vs. 2.36% under GOP," Grok continued. "Job creation? 1.7% yearly for Dems, 1.0% for Republicans. Also, 9 of the last 10 recessions started under Republican presidents." "Data speaks louder than party lines," it declared pithily. It appears the first part of Grok's reply was taken almost verbatim from the Wikipedia page for "[US economic performance by presidential party]()." A similarly Wiki-scraped summary also comes up on Google's AI Overview [when searching]() "democrats vs republicans good for the economy last 30 years." Still, it's the thought that counts — and per Grok's "[thinking]()," Democrats outperform Republicans, Musk's chosen party and that of his [alleged co-president](), Donald Trump, [by wide margins](). To put it to the test, we submitted the same question to Grok and got a much more long-winded answer that included a "vibes check" suggesting that Republicans were hit harder by "external shocks" like 9/11 and COVID while Democrats "got luckier with timing" with the 90s tech bubble and the post-2008 stock market crisis recovery period. As for its "bottom line," Grok confidently asserted that "over 30 years, Democrats nudge ahead on growth, jobs, and markets — \[Bill\] Clinton’s golden years and \[Barack\] Obama’s steady hand tip it." "Republicans got slammed by crises (Bush) or didn’t sustain gains (Trump)," it continued matter-of-factly. "Debt’s a wash — both spent big when pushed. No one’s perfect, and Congress plus the Fed muddy the waters, but the numbers lean D." Though it's [far from the first time]() the "[maximally truth-seeking]()" AI has [countered the politics]() of its creator, this instance is particularly humbling at a time when [Musk is trashing Democrats]() for suggesting he and his boss are driving the United States [headlong into a recession](). And speaking of Trump: when someone else on Cole's thread asked it to name "[the worst president ever]()," the chatbot ranked Trump among the absolute dregs. "Historians often point to James Buchanan — his inaction on slavery and the secession crisis led to the Civil War," [Grok replied](). "Andrew Johnson and Franklin Pierce also rank low for similar failures in leadership. Trump’s 2024 score of 10.92 out of 100 in the Presidential Greatness Project doesn’t help his case either." "Pick your poison," Grok concluded. **More on Grok:** [*Elon's Grok 3 AI Provides "Hundreds of Pages of Detailed Instructions" on Creating Chemical Weapons*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()