Donald Trump has watched Big Tech leaders scramble to be in his good graces since his victory in the 2024 US presidential election.
While some tech giants announced major changes in content moderation practices to protect freedom of speech, others sought to fight “wokeness” by scaling back DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) programmes.
All Big Tech leaders have made their way to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence over the past few weeks to potentially influence upcoming tech policies, with most of them contributing $1 million dollars to his inaugural fund.
“Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power, and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead,” warned outgoing US President Joe Biden in his final address to the country before demitting office.
Industry titans such as Tesla’s Elon Musk, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Apple’s Tim Cook, Google’s Sundar Pichai, and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella are all lined up to attend Trump’s swearing-in ceremony at Washington DC, US, on Monday, January 20.
As Trump begins his second term as the 47th US president, here’s how Big Tech and its CEOs have reshaped their relationship with him.
Meta and Mark Zuckerberg
In the wake of the riots at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg expressed concerns about further incitement of violence and proceeded to ban then-President Trump from Facebook and Instagram (The ban was lifted in 2023).
Until last year, Trump had repeatedly said that the tech billionaire should be thrown in jail for Facebook’s role in the 2020 presidential race and alleged personal contributions to mail-in ballot initiatives.
However, Zuckerberg appears to have made nice with Trump since then. He had praised Trump after the assassination attempt against the latter. Shortly after Trump’s electoral victory, Zuckerberg was seen dining with the president at his Mar-a-Lago residence.
The Meta boss has tapped Trump-friendly Republican Joel Kaplan to lead the company’s new global policy team. Dana White, a close Trump ally and the CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), was appointed to the Meta’s board of directors. Zuckerberg also donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund in December last year.
Zuckerberg’s moves to mend fences with Trump can be viewed in the context of the US FTC’s antitrust case challenging Meta’s acquisitions of WhatsApp and Instagram, which is expected to go to trial in April this year. Banning TikTok would have also directly benefited Meta’s platforms, but Trump now seems to be siding with the ByteDance-owned app.
Google and Sundar Pichai
During his first term as president, Trump accused Google of rigging search results to show only negative news reports about him. He alleged that its search engine was “hiding information and news that is good” and that this was a “very serious situation” that “will be addressed.”
Google had denied the accusations and said that its search engine has never been biased “toward any political ideology.”
However, after his 2024 victory, Trump claimed that Google CEO Sundar Pichai called him on the phone several times. Pichai also had a meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago last month and announced a $1 million donation to his inaugural fund.
Pichai’s attempts to smooth over Google’s rocky history with Trump could be seen as a strategic move to navigate antitrust actions against the company. The tech giant faces the threat of a breakup after a US district judge ruled that it held an illegal monopoly in search and text advertising. The verdict in a second antitrust case involving Google’s ad business is also expected this year.
Amazon and Jeff Bezos
Trump has not exactly been silent about his distaste for Amazon in the past. He had accused the e-commerce giant of paying too little in taxes and said that it was making the US Postal Services “dumber and poorer.”
But Amazon’s billionaire founder Jeff Bezos has said that he is “very optimistic” this time around. “[Trump] seems to have a lot of energy around reducing regulation. If I can help him do that, I’m going to help him,” Bezos said at an event in December last year.
The Washington Post owner reportedly blocked the newspaper from publishing an endorsement of Kamala Harris, Trump’s Democratic contender. Bezos was also seen dining with Trump last year. Amazon joined other tech companies in giving $1 million to Trump’s fund.
Bezo’s companies have a lot at stake with the incoming Trump administration such as the FTC’s antitrust lawsuit against Amazon. His space company, Blue Origin, will also be competing for US government contracts alongside rival SpaceX owned by Elon Musk.
Apple and Tim Cook
Unlike other Big Tech leaders, Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly forged a personal relationship with Trump in his first term. He had directly appealed to Trump in 2019 and got him to roll-back new tariffs imposed on Chinese imports that would have hurt the iPhone-maker’s business.
“Tim [Cook] was talking to me about tariffs and … he made a good case … that Samsung is their number one competitor and Samsung is not paying tariffs. […] I thought he made a very compelling argument so I’m thinking about it,” Trump had said at the time.
After Trump’s 2024 Election Day victory, Cook met to congratulate the president at the latter’s Mar-a-Lago resort. He also donated $1 million to the president’s inauguration committee.
Based on his campaign speeches, Trump could restart a trade war with China by imposing tariffs on Chinese goods at a rate of 60 to 100 percent. This would have big implications for companies like Apple which heavily rely on devices and components that are made in China. However, Cook’s close ties with Trump could work to Apple’s advantage in this area.
Microsoft and Satya Nadella
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella appears to share a healthy relationship with Trump as well, reportedly donating $500,000 to Trump’s first inauguration. The last time Trump was in the White House, he met with Nadella several times. Nadella was also involved in talks to acquire TikTok, when Trump was trying to ban the app in the US back in 2020.
“Congratulations President Trump, we’re looking forward to engaging with you and your administration to drive innovation forward that creates new growth and opportunity for the United States and the world,” Nadella wrote in a post on X after Trump’s electoral victory in 2024.
Last week, Nadella and Microsoft president Brad Smith reportedly had lunch with Trump and Vice President JD Vance, along with Elon Musk.
The gathering discussed cybersecurity, tech policy, Microsoft’s $80 billion-dollar plans to invest in AI infrastructure worldwide, and “creating new American jobs for American workers and advancing American competitiveness both in the U.S. and abroad,” the company said.
