The scene opens confusingly. The camera zooms too close to the president’s face; the table at which the tech executives are seated seems far too long. Mark Zuckerberg is there, and Bill Gates and Tim Cook and Satya Nadella and Sam Altman and on and on, a baker’s dozen or so of Silicon Valley’s most powerful people—cutthroat competitors all—united here to pledge allegiance to Donald Trump.
The introduction from Trump is characteristically both overgilded and confusing: “It’s an honor to be here with this group of people. They’re leading a revolution in business and in genius and every other word.” And then, about 90 seconds in, the pandering begins.
This was Donald Trump’s dinner with tech leaders at the State Dining Room in the White House on Thursday evening, broadcast in part for all to see on C-SPAN. It’s in many ways a remarkable document, the culmination of months of Big Tech cozying up to the administration.
One by one, Trump asked the executives how much they were investing in the United States. One by one, they obliged, praising Trump’s leadership along the way. The president has run this play previously with his cabinet members, powerful people tripping over themselves in the race toward Trump’s good graces. But there was an eeriness to see that same dynamic among Big Tech’s braintrust, like passing a camera around to take turns wishing a distant, unloved uncle a very happy Thanksgiving.
“It’s going to be something like $600 billion through ‘28,” said Zuckerberg about Meta’s domestic infrastructure investments. Sergey Brin congratulated Trump on “applying pressure” in Venezuela, two days after a US drone operator extrajudiciously murdered 11 people on an alleged drug cartel boat.
Everyone else praised the administration’s AI policy. Microsoft’s Nadella shouted out Melania Trump in particular for her leadership in “skilling and economic opportunity that comes with AI.”(The first lady launched a Presidential Artificial Intelligence Challenge last month, and hosted an education-themed AI task force meeting prior to the dinner on Thursday.) Google CEO Sundar Pichai and AMD CEO Lisa Su praised the Trump administration’s AI initiatives.
“I want to thank you for setting the tone such that we could make a major investment in the United States,” said Cook, referring to Apple’s pledge to put $600 billion into US manufacturing. Given that Apple made that commitment under threat of crippling tariffs on smartphones, it was a bit like thanking the school bully for setting the tone such that you can give him your lunch money.
For enthusiasm it was hard to beat Oracle CEO Safra Catz, who had previously served as a member of Trump’s transition team. “You’ve unleashed American innovation and creativity, all the work you’re doing in basically every cabinet post in addition to what’s coming out of the White House is making it possible for America to win,” Catz said. “I think this is the most exciting time in America ever.” And with that, after a quick joke about his rumored demise, Trump opened up the floor to questions from the media. If you watch closely, you can catch Zuckerberg giving someone across the table an eyebrow raise for the ages.
