The most prominent leaders in the software industry are trying out a new rulebook to engage , Donald Trump, who has been previously opposed to their supremacy: in-person dinner.
A steady flow of some of the biggest names in technologies— Meta Platforms Inc. ‘s , Mark Zuckerberg,  , Google , co-founder , Sergey Brin , and , Amazon.com , Inc. ‘s , Jeff Bezos , — have all made pilgrimages to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in , Florida , to individually meet with the president-elect, a striking reversal from his 2016 victory, when some business leaders kept their distance, rather currying favor by hiring well-connected lobbyists.
” EVERYBOD Y WANTS TO BE MY FRIEND!! “!, Trump posted to Truth Social on Thursday.
That note echoes a comment he made during a press conference earlier in the week drawing a comparison with his first name when “everyone was fighting” to presently, with business executives clamoring to sit with him on his , Palm Beach , hotel’s garden.
Trump is the first Republican to have received a majority in the previous 20 years. He lost it in 2016 even as he won the , Electoral College , to secure the , White House. He’s now accumulating a large number of executive or corporate commitments to finance his inauguration in addition to the requests for a private audience with him.
The president-elect has been openly hostile to some in the tech sector, sharing his gripes on Truth Social — the social media platform he started after he was kicked off many mainstream sites following the 2021 , U. S. Capitol , insurrection. Trump’s complaints have ranged from bias against conservative voices on Facebook to unfavorable , Google , search results.
Still, Trump also enjoys hobnobbing with wealthy, successful business leaders, many of whom are celebrities in their own right.
CEO ‘ panic’
The concern that their business, products, or they personally could be the target of social media missives the president-elect is known to fire off at any time, frequently without warning is what motivates some of the executives to form a relationship with Trump.
” I think the term is’ panic.’ These guys were all anti-Trump, and they all know he has a great memory, an enormous amount of energy and is quite prepared to go after people who he thinks are a problem”, former House Speaker , Newt Gingrich , said in an interview.
At a dinner on Wednesday, Trump and Bezos were joined by Trump’s son Eric and his wife, Melania, along with , Tesla Inc.  , and , SpaceX , Chief Executive Officer , Elon Musk, a major campaign donor and the world’s richest person, according to a person familiar with the gathering.
Musk quickly gained traction with the president-elect’s inner circle during the campaign, and he used that influence to persuade Trump to oppose a congressional spending agreement, which could cause a government shutdown if no agreement is reached by the weekend.
” President Trump is surrounding himself with industry leaders like , Elon Musk , as he works to restore innovation, reduce regulation and celebrate free speech in his second term”, Trump spokesperson , Brian Hughes , said in a statement.
If tech executives are able to ally themselves with Trump, they could have that kind of sway. During his first , White House , term,  , Apple , Inc. ‘s , Tim Cook , had some success employing this strategy. Many other CEOs avoided doing this out of fear of reprisals from employees or customers, so Cook was able to mostly fend off tariffs that could have significantly increased the cost of the import of iPhones.
CEOs and founders see the value in actively arguing their case with Trump and his top lieutenants as new rounds of tariffs become a reality as well as a lingering desire in some Republican circles to repress the government.
Bezos was a target of Trump’s jabs during his first term. He and Musk, who are one of the few people in the world who is wealthier than him, shared a table on Wednesday, and Starlink satellite internet is one of the fiercest rivals to Project Kuiper from Amazon. Amazon’s service has been behind schedule with development, and the company is facing the prospect of an incoming administration filled with people who are closely related to SpaceX.
Tech demos
In late November, Zuckerberg visited Trump and several of his advisers at Mar-a-Lago. The series of meetings, which took place over two days, included sessions with , Susie Wiles, Trump’s incoming chief of staff,  , Stephen Miller, a top adviser, and Senator , Marco Rubio, Trump’s pick for secretary of State. As the company develops more deeply into artificial intelligence and wearables, the Meta CEO gave a demo of the company’s new Ray-Ban branded smartglasses.
Zuckerberg has made it abundantly clear that he wants to consult Trump on tech policy going forward, and Meta is arguably the one company who stands to gain the most from a potential TikTok ban, which could occur as soon as January. If TikTok is ultimately banned, Meta has a rival video product called Reels, which is already well-known among young people.
For someone who has repeatedly drawn Trump’s ire, the Zuckerberg’s visit to Mar-a-Lago was a positive move. The president-elect suggested on the campaign trail that Zuckerberg should be jailed for alleged election interference during the 2020 U. S. elections, and called , Facebook , the” Enemy of the People” back in March.
Brin and the CEO of , Google , parent company  , Alphabet Inc.  , Sundar Pichai , also dined with Trump earlier this month, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The overtures from the , Google , executives to the president-elect are a noteworthy departure from the search giant’s approach to the first Trump administration. After the 2016 election, Pichai and Brin, who are both immigrants, criticized Trump’s proposal to ban people from several Muslim-majority countries from traveling to or seeking refuge in the , U. S.  , — with Brin even joining protesters at the , San Francisco International Airport , in , January 2017. ” I’m here because I’m a refugee”, Brin told reporters at the time.
The meeting with Trump comes as , Google , is set to tussle with the government on several critical fronts in the coming year, including antitrust issues and AI regulation. Trump has named several critics of Google to his administration, including , Brendan Carr , to head the , Federal Communications Commission. He has accused , Google , of manipulating search results and allegedly censoring conservative viewpoints.
Trump has also criticized , Google , and said the company should be prosecuted for showing only “bad stories” about him during the 2024 campaign. An antitrust case alleging the tech giant’s dominance in search, which the , Justice Department , won earlier this year, began in the Trump administration. But in recent months, he has struck a more conciliatory tone, saying in an interview with , Bloomberg News , that he didn’t think the , Justice Department , should break up , Google , as part of the agency’s antitrust case against the company.
Pichai has reportedly spoken with Trump twice in recent months, including when he thanked him for winning in November. And in October, Trump said Pichai had told him, “You’re the No. 1 person on all of , Google , for stories”.
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