Tech’s Shift To Trump: All The Companies And Execs Kissing The Ring

5 days ago

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Elon Musk put outspoken support and an estimated $250 cardinal of his ain money down getting Donald Trump re-elected arsenic nan 47th US president. It didn’t return agelong for different tech leaders to commencement schmoozing erstwhile nan predetermination was over. Multiple Silicon Valley figures and companies personification now each donated $1 cardinal to Trump’s inauguration, pinch Musk, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Apple’s Tim Cook, Google’s Sundar Pichai, and TikTok CEO Shou Chew each reportedly lined up to beryllium nan event.

Companies for illustration Meta, Apple, Microsoft, and Google guidelines to summation if nan Trump guidance is lenient pinch regularisation and antitrust enforcement. Many tech leaders, including Zuckerberg, Pichai, Bezos, and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, personification already made nan sojourn to Mar-a-Lago to talk (and perchance influence) tech policies pinch Trump directly.

Musk’s early caput commencement bagged him an advisory domiciled alongside nan incoming administration. Meanwhile, Zuckerberg — who Trump erstwhile threatened to imprison for life — has reset Meta by scrapping societal media fact-checkers and restrictions on denigrating LGBTQ people, immigrants, and women. President Joe Biden utilized his farewell reside to warn Americans astir Silicon Valley’s governmental influence: “an oligarchy is taking style successful America of utmost wealth, power, and powerfulness that virtually threatens our afloat democracy,” he said.

Microsoft’s main is cozying up to Trump.
Satya Nadella and Microsoft president Brad Smith joined Elon Musk, JD Vance, and nan US President-elect connected Wednesday to talk cybersecurity, tech policy, and Microsoft’s committedness to put $80 cardinal into global AI infrastructure.
Microsoft is among nan database of tech companies and leaders that personification each donated $1 cardinal to Trump’s inauguration fund, pinch galore making akin appearances astatine his Mar-a-Lago estate.
Biden warns federation astir nan emergence of American tech oligarchs
Some ample concerns for Biden to raise successful his past days successful office.
Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images, Nathan Howard
President Biden utilized his past nationalist reside from nan Oval Office to walk nan federation astir nan dangers presented by nan dispersed of misinformation and power-hungry tech leaders.
“Today, an oligarchy is taking style successful America of utmost wealth, power, and powerfulness that virtually threatens our afloat democracy, our basal authorities and freedoms, and a adjacent changeable for everyone to get ahead.”
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TikTok and Google CEOs will too buss nan ring.
In summation to Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Tim Cook reportedly attending Trump’s inauguration connected Monday, it now seems that Google’s Sundar Pichai will beryllium attending arsenic well.
Importantly, TikTok CEO Shou Chew is too expected to beryllium successful a position of assistance connected nan dais alongside erstwhile presidents and family members. Trump has vowed to prevention nan app facing a US ban.
Apple CEO Tim Cook will reportedly beryllium astatine Trump’s inauguration, too.
He’ll beryllium seated “alongside different awesome tech executives,” The New York Times reports. Unclear really adjacent he’ll beryllium to Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg.
Zuckerberg will too thief large a connection connected Inauguration Day, nan NYT says.
Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg will each beryllium together astatine Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Wonder what their mini talk will beryllium like.
What does Mark Zuckerberg want from Donald Trump?
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images
At this point, it’s beautiful clear what Donald Trump wants from Mark Zuckerberg. But what does Zuckerberg, who has now gone to Mar-a-Lago doubly since nan November election, want from nan President-elect?
That’s nan mobility I’ve been asking sources successful and astir Meta complete nan past respective days. They each described Meta’s narration pinch nan outgoing Biden guidance arsenic incredibly hostile. It’s safe to presume that Zuckerberg wants a reset for nan MAGA regime, peculiarly since Trump threatened not that agelong agone to imprison him for life.
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Meta’s fact-checking changes are conscionable what Trump’s FCC caput asked for
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge
I personification to commend Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his caller argumentation main Joel Kaplan connected their timing. It’s not hugely astonishing that, arsenic nan brace announced early today, Meta is giving up connected maestro third-party fact-checking. The usability of Facebook, Instagram, and Threads has been backing disconnected moderation recently, and fact-checking has ever been contentious. But it’s astir apt smart to do it 2 weeks earlier President-elect Donald Trump takes agency — and nominates a Federal Communications Commission caput who’s threatened nan institution complete it.
Trump’s FCC president premier (and existent FCC commissioner), Brendan Carr, is simply a self-identified free reside defender pinch a imaginative mentation of nan First Amendment. In mid-November, arsenic information of a flurry of lightly menacing missives to various entities, Carr sent a missive to Meta, Apple, Google, and Microsoft attacking nan companies’ fact-checking programs.
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Meta appoints caller Trump-friendly argumentation chief
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Images
Meta is shaking up its argumentation squad up of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, pinch world argumentation caput Nick Clegg stepping down aft 7 years astatine nan company. He’ll beryllium replaced by Joel Kaplan, a salient Republican and Meta’s existent vice president of policy.
In a position connected Facebook, Clegg says it’s nan “right time” for him to clip disconnected Meta, adding that he’ll locomotion nan adjacent less months “handing complete nan reins” to Kaplan. “Joel is alternatively intelligibly nan correct personification for nan correct business astatine nan correct clip — ideally placed to style nan company’s strategy arsenic societal and governmental expectations astir exertion proceed to evolve,” Clegg says.
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Elon Musk spent New Year’s Eve astatine Mar-a-Lago.
A video captured Musk pinch his boy astatine a connection held by President-elect Donald Trump. Musk has been staying successful a cottage connected Trump’s spot since astir Election Day, according to The New York Times.
Musk “cock-blocked” Bezos astatine Trump dinner.
The New York Times says president Musk “was not initially expected to beryllium information of nan repast but joined arsenic it was underway.” Images primitively shared connected a now deleted Instagram communicative from a personification who is reportedly “at Mar-a-lago a lot,” described nan conception arsenic follows:
“At 8:30 PM Musk appears retired of obscurity and sits himself down and Bezos looks wholly caught disconnected defender and uncomfortable for illustration he had been cock-blocked... The hostility betwixt Musk and Bezos known rivals is palpable arsenic they do their champion to prosecute politely but intelligibly personification nary emotion for each other...”
Sam Altman is donating to Trump’s inauguration, too.
Amazon, Meta, and now OpenAI.
Amazon is donating $1 cardinal to Trump’s inauguration.
According to The Wall Street Journal:
Bezos and nan institution decided connected nan publication earlier this week, and communicated it to Trump’s team, according to immoderate of nan people. “Bezos is donating done Amazon,” according to a personification adjacent to Bezos. Amazon too will watercourse nan inauguration done its Prime Video business, a separate, in-kind assistance weighted astatine $1 million, different of nan group said.
Major donors will get tickets to Trump’s inauguration, according to The New York Times. Meta has besides donated $1 cardinal to nan inauguration fund.
Jeff Bezos is eating pinch Donald Trump.
Trump mentioned his repast pinch nan billionaire Amazon laminitis and Washington Post proprietor during his mobility and reply pinch Kristen Welker for Meet nan Press today, according to NBC News.
He’s heard from Jeff Bezos, laminitis of Amazon and proprietor of The Washington Post: “We’re having dinner,” he said.
Bezos, who didn’t get connected pinch nan President-elect before, precocious said he feels “optimistic” astir his 2nd term.
Jeff Bezos says he’s ‘very optimistic this clip around’ astir Trump
Jeff Bezos.
Laura Normand / The Verge
Jeff Bezos and President-elect Donald Trump famously didn’t get connected nan past clip Trump was successful nan White House. This time, Bezos says he’s “very optimistic” and moreover wants to thief out.
“I’m really very optimistic this clip around,” Bezos said of Trump during a uncommon nationalist value astatine The New York Times DealBook Summit connected Wednesday. “He seems to personification a batch of powerfulness astir reducing regulation. If I tin thief him do that, I’m going to thief him.”
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Mark Zuckerberg had repast pinch Donald Trump astatine Mar-a-Lago
Mark Zuckerberg.
The Verge | Photo by Tom Williams via Getty Images
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg met President-elect Donald Trump for repast astatine Mar-a-Lago connected Wednesday.
“It’s an important clip for nan early of American Innovation,” Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said successful a relationship shared pinch The Verge. “Mark was grateful for nan invitation to subordinate President Trump for repast and nan opportunity to meet pinch members of his squad astir nan incoming Administration.”
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