Tech CEOs Take Turns Praising Trump at White House Dinner
Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai and Sam Altman saluted the president’s leadership on innovation at an event that underscored the industry’s desire for his favor.
President Trump on Thursday led leaders of the world’s biggest technology companies in a version of his cabinet meetings, in which each participant takes a turn thanking and praising him for his efforts to promote investments in chip manufacturing and artificial intelligence.
PREMIUM
Tech titans including Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said “thank you” to the president, with some laying out how much their companies plan to invest in the U.S.
“Thank you for being such a pro-business, pro-innovation president. It’s a very refreshing change,” Altman said. “I think it’s going to set us up for a long period of leading the world, and that wouldn’t be happening without your leadership.”
Cook said Apple is expected to invest $600 billion in the U.S. “I want to thank you for setting the tone such that we can make a major investment in the United States and have some key manufacturing here. I think it says a lot about your leadership and focus on innovation,” Cook said.
Several of the executives, including Altman, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, and Arvind Krishna, CEO and chairman of IBM, were at the White House earlier in the day to attend the White House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence Education roundtable, hosted by first lady Melania Trump.
Trump wanted to use the dinner as a debut of the newly paved Rose Garden, and throughout the day White House staff worked to set up white tables outside on the patio. But the rain pushed the meal inside to the dining room, where Trump and the first lady were surrounded by tech executives and senior administration officials, including AI and crypto czar David Sacks and chief of staff Susie Wiles.
“The most brilliant people are gathered at this table,” Trump said. “This is definitely a high IQ group.”
Trump opened the dinner by remarking on a significant obstacle for tech companies: procuring enough electricity to power massive data centers needed to develop AI. His administration has been working to remove roadblocks to connecting data centers to the grid, though many challenges exist at the state level.
“I know everybody at the table indirectly through reading about you and studying, knowing a lot about your business, actually making it very easy for you in terms of electric capacity and getting it for you, getting your permits,” he said.
President Trump and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who was seated directly to the president’s right, were asked about a crackdown on speech in the United Kingdom.
Zuckerberg, who seemed startled by a question directed at him, responded that he hadn’t been listening.
Trump then turned to him and said: “This is the beginning of your political career.”
“No, it’s not,” Zuckerberg responded with a chuckle.
Write to Katherine Blunt at katherine.blunt@wsj.com and Meridith McGraw at Meridith.McGraw@WSJ.com
One Subscription.
Get 360° coverage—from daily headlines
to 100 year archives.
E-Paper
Full Archives
Full Access to
HT App & Website
Games
Already subscribed? Login
