Silicon Valley heads to Mar-a-Lago

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The days of tech CEOs competing with Donald Trump are coming to an end after distancing themselves from him during his first administration. and publicly reprimanded him after the events of January 6, 2021, many Silicon Valley leaders began to take a softer approach. Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman have all pledged to donate $1 million to Trump’s launch fund through their companies or personal funds. Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who protested Trump’s immigration policies in 2017, apparently eat At Mar-a-Lago with Trump and Google CEO Sundar Pichai this month BezosAlong with the leader. tick tock and NetflixIt is also reported to be scheduled there this week. As Trump said in a press conference today, “In my first term, everyone was fighting me. At this stage, everyone wants to be my friend.”

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Friendship may not be exactly what tech CEOs want. It seems that self-care plays a role. These companies don’t want to lose government contracts or face retaliation from a man known to threaten punishment against those who criticize him. Many years ago Trump is not friendly to technology. and vice versa During his first term, he used Twitter. Secretly insulted at Amazon and then-CEO Bezos, and more recently this summer. Trump is unreasonable. accusation at Zuckerberg Ambition is also part of the calculus. CEOs hope Trump’s entry into the industry is easier than the Biden administration’s had, including crypto and AI. Now, as Trump prepares to take office for a second time, Tech executives appear eager to please the president-elect. and start a new relationship that will get rid of the past

Throughout Trump’s 2024 campaign, tech executives were speak privately with Trump about their interests and political preferences. after the election People were quick to express their congratulations. Never before has business leaders attempted to strike good terms with the incoming administration. But the mechanisms here are unfolding. As my colleague Ali Breland wrote last week, “Until recently, elites and politicians working together feared a scandal about the sausage-making process was about to be revealed. and the public backlash that may follow.” Elon Musk has now set a new standard for overt political participation. Including attempts to influence election results. His colleagues are operating more blatantly than ever before. In addition to the tech CEOs who donated to Trump, Many of the high-profile venture capitalists who were silent for Trump are still around right now. Support For tech leaders nominated for roles in the Trump administration Venture capitalist David Sacks is an outspoken Trump supporter. Was nominated to be “AI and Crypto Czar” for the incoming administration And of course the vice president-elect was also a venture capitalist.

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Donating to presidential inaugural funds is a standard practice for companies. To send a signal of goodwill Some tech companies, including Google and Amazon, quietly gave small amounts to Trump’s inaugural fund, according to the filing. Published information By OpenSecrets, companies like Google and Microsoft Already donated to President Joe Biden’s inauguration fund, and seven-figure technology donations are unprecedented. Microsoft gave more than $2 million to President Barack Obama for his 2013 inauguration. Big money flows from many executives this year, Margaret O’Mara, a Silicon Valley historian, told me in an email. “It is both a reflection of general spending growth at the start” and “increases in profits and net worth of technology’s biggest names” and warm meetings and statements from tech leaders who donated this amount. It signals a new chapter in cooperation between Big Tech and Trump.

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The tech industry has always relied on the federal government. But political allegiances have changed. Free market liberalism has long operated across regions and industries. Even in the 2010s, the industry cooperated with the Obama administration. which is a relationship that benefit Both sides during Trump’s first term The relationship between government and technology has become uneasy: Social platforms have tried to do damage control after receiving backlash from employees and users who blamed them for Trump’s rise to office. (Remember Zuckerberg’s words) national listening tour in 2017?) as Trump enters his second term with nearly half of the nation’s votes. Supporting him may not risk the same level of public dissatisfaction. In many circles, Trump’s ban has ended. As O’Mara said The social consequences of supporting Trump are diminishing, and Business Risks of Mountain Crossing higher

When Zuckerberg visited Mar-a-Lago the evening before Thanksgiving He and the other guests It is reported that Standing with his hands covering his heart while listening to a recording of the national anthem sung by people accused of crimes related to the events of January 6, whether Zuckerberg knows who the singer is is not clear. But the incident seems strange because it was on January 6th when the said incident occurred. It’s a bright red line for the tech industry: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Twitch have banned or suspended Trump. And companies like Amazon temporarily halted donations to voter detractors. Now, with the arrival of Trump 2.0, that red line has been erased.

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