{"id":2379997,"date":"2024-12-13T20:16:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-14T01:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/big-tech-moguls-shell-out-big-donations-to-build-relationship-with-trump-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-12-13T20:17:55","modified_gmt":"2024-12-14T01:17:55","slug":"big-tech-moguls-shell-out-big-donations-to-build-relationship-with-trump-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/big-tech-moguls-shell-out-big-donations-to-build-relationship-with-trump-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Big Tech moguls shell out big donations to build relationship with Trump &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbig-tech-moguls-shell-out-big-donations-to-build-relationship-with-trump-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2379997&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In the context \u2064of growing relationships between prominent figures in \u2062Big Tech and \u2063former\u200c President \u2062Donald Trump, several tech \u2062leaders have begun making meaningful political\u2063 donations \u200bto support\u200b Trump, especially in light \u200dof\u2063 the 2024 election. Notably, Sam\u200c Altman, the CEO of\u2062 OpenAI,\u200d donated $1 million to Trump&#8217;s \u200dinaugural fund, expressing his belief \u2062that\u2064 Trump will lead the country into the age\u200b of artificial intelligence.\u200d This shift occurs despite\u2063 Big\u200c Tech&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fired-cnn-anchor-frets-about-how-trump-might-punish-media-if-he-wins\/\" title=\"Ex-CNN Anchor Worries Trump Could Target Media if Reelected\">historically adversarial relationship<\/a> with Trump, who has previously criticized the industry.<\/p>\n<p>Other tech leaders, including Tesla&#8217;s Elon Musk and Meta&#8217;s Mark Zuckerberg, have also shown signs of warming to Trump. Musk was \u200ban early\u200d supporter during Trump&#8217;s first campaign, while Zuckerberg has sought to mend ties, acknowledging\u2062 past criticism regarding the handling of conservative voices and participating in voter engagement programs \u200ccriticized as partisan.<\/p>\n<p>additionally, Apple CEO Tim Cook is \u2064reportedly set to meet \u200dwith \u200cTrump, reflecting his previously \u2062more favorable relationship with \u200bthe former president. The evolving dynamics signal a \u2064strategic alignment from\u2062 these tech figures, as they anticipate potential regulatory shifts\u200c that could benefit the industry under a Trump-led management. this trend demonstrates a noteworthy pivot in Big Tech&#8217;s political engagement as \u200cthe\u200c 2024 election approaches.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Big Tech moguls shell out big donations to build relationship with Trump<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1911875\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>OpenAI head Sam Altman joined a host of Big Tech figures <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3258525\/trump-vows-crush-big-tech-warms\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"cozying up\">cozying up<\/a> to President-elect <a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Donald Trump<\/a>, donating $1 million to his inaugural fund.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Big Tech has been one of Trump&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">biggest long-term rivals<\/a>, a frequent target of his ire in public speeches. During the 2024 election cycle, however, several major Big Tech figures started to warm to him, with the trend intensifying after his victory. Tesla CEO Elon Musk and software engineer Marc Andreessen were the first to lead the charge, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/firearms-in-the-us-out-of-the-hands-of-law-abiding-citizens\/\" title=\"Firearms in the US, out of the hands of law-abiding citizens\">playing major roles<\/a> in Trump&rsquo;s election.<\/p>\n<p>The artificial intelligence space is filling up with competitors trying to attract Trump&rsquo;s attention. Republicans have been critical of how Biden has handled the burgeoning technology. <\/p>\n<p>Trump is expected to roll back President Joe Biden&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/presidential-actions\/2023\/10\/30\/executive-order-on-the-safe-secure-and-trustworthy-development-and-use-of-artificial-intelligence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"executive order\">executive order<\/a> on AI that the GOP has called dangerous and said &ldquo;hinders AI Innovation, and imposes Radical Leftwing ideas&rdquo; on the technology.<\/p>\n<p>A lighter regulatory regime for AI could be a boon for the Big Tech world that has been at odds with Trump most of the past decade. <\/p>\n<p>Here are some of the most prominent Big Tech figures warming to Trump:<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sam Altman<\/h2>\n<p>Altman donated $1 million to the inaugural fund, further adding a message of unambiguous support for the president-elect.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;President Trump will lead our country into the age of A.I., and I am eager to support his efforts to ensure America stays ahead,&rdquo; he said in a written <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/12\/13\/technology\/openai-sam-altman-trump-inauguration.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"statement\">statement<\/a> to the <em>New York Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Altman&rsquo;s decision to throw money behind Trump comes after he donated to Biden&rsquo;s 2024 reelection effort and his firm has stocked itself with former Clinton and Obama White House officials. <\/p>\n<p>Altman has also clashed with Musk, a close adviser and major donor to Trump, though he has said he isn&rsquo;t concerned his rival&rsquo;s close proximity to the president-elect will mean there is any corruption to ensure his own xAI program gets preferential treatment. <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Mark Zuckerberg<\/h2>\n<p>Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has turned his political messaging around in recent months. Facebook played a major role in the 2020 election and came under fire from Trump and Republicans for allegedly suppressing conservative voices. Zuckerberg was also tied to an effort to funnel cash to programs designed to boost voter engagement that went almost exclusively to Democratic-leaning outfits. The program was derisively called &ldquo;Zuckerbucks&rdquo; by its critics. <\/p>\n<p>But Zuckerberg has since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3134499\/mark-zuckerberg-admits-censorship-vows-curb-election-donations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">admitted<\/a> Facebook censored different voices and promised he would address those concerns as well as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/psaki-there-is-a-distinct-difference-between-blue-state-governors-defying-cdc-guidelines-and-desantis-standing-in-the-way\/\" title=\"Psaki: There Is A \u2018Distinct Difference\u2019 Between Blue State Governors Defying CDC Guidelines And DeSantis \u2018Standing In The Way\u2019\">pull back funding<\/a> for the voting efforts. <\/p>\n<p>When Trump was the victim of an assassination attempt on July 13, Zuckerberg stopped short of following Musk and endorsing him, but he praised his response.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Seeing Donald Trump get up after getting shot in the face and pump his fist in the air with the American flag is one of the most badass things I&rsquo;ve ever seen in my life,&rdquo; the Meta CEO said in July.<\/p>\n<p>Part of Zuckerberg&rsquo;s overtures were reportedly due to feeling embittered after Democratic criticism despite his 2020 election efforts. Despite this, he has attempted to remain above politics as much as possible, refusing to endorse Trump or outgoing Vice President Kamala Harris.<\/p>\n<p>Even without the endorsement, Zuckerberg has tried to ingratiate himself with Trump in recent weeks. He congratulated Trump on his &ldquo;decisive victory&rdquo; and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3244990\/mark-zuckerberg-meets-trump-mar-a-lago\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">met with<\/a>&nbsp;him at Mar-a-Lago last month. And he reportedly donated $1 million to Trump&rsquo;s inaugural fund this week in what could be another attempt to put himself on Trump&rsquo;s radar.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tim Cook<\/h2>\n<p>Two people with knowledge of the situation <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/12\/13\/technology\/trump-tim-cook-mar-a-lago.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"told\">told<\/a><em> <\/em>the <em>New York Times<\/em> that Apple CEO Tim Cook is due to dine with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Cook was noted as having a better relationship with Trump in the first administration than other Big Tech heads. He was reportedly close with Trump&rsquo;s daughter Ivanka, a major figure in the first administration.<\/p>\n<p>The Apple head was quick to congratulate Trump on his victory in November.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Congratulations President Trump on your victory! We look forward to engaging with you and your administration to help make sure the United States continues to lead with and be fueled by ingenuity, innovation, and creativity,&rdquo; he said in a post on X.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Congratulations President Trump on your victory!  We look forward to engaging with you and your administration to help make sure the United States continues to lead with and be fueled by ingenuity, innovation, and creativity.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Tim Cook (@tim_cook) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tim_cook\/status\/1854225875002396860?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 6, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sundar Pichai<\/h2>\n<p>Google CEO Sunder Pichai, despite a frosty relationship during the first Trump administration, has made some overtures toward Trump ahead of the second. He dined with Trump at Mar-a-Lago and has signaled a desire to cooperate with Trump in the field of AI.<\/p>\n<p>He said that he&rsquo;s ready to work under a Trump-run &ldquo;Manhattan Project&rdquo; for AI.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think there is a chance for us to work as a country together,&rdquo; Pichai said in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.semafor.com\/article\/12\/12\/2024\/why-alphabet-and-google-ceo-sundar-pichai-never-panicked?utm_source=semafor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"interview\">interview<\/a> with <em>Semafor<\/em>. &ldquo;These big, physical infrastructure projects to accelerate progress is something we would be very excited by.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Jeff Bezos<\/h2>\n<p>Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is scheduled to dine with Trump at Mar-a-Lago next week following some favorable moves toward Trump. He is also due to donate $1 million to the inaugural committee.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Bezos personally made the decision to disallow the<em> Washington Post<\/em>, which he owns, from making a presidential endorsement. The move was widely understood as a non-endorsement of Harris, though explained by Bezos as intended to make the outlet more nonpartisan.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Presidential endorsements do nothing to tip the scales of an election. No undecided voters in Pennsylvania are going to say, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m going with Newspaper A&rsquo;s endorsement.&rsquo; None,&rdquo; Bezos <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/3206797\/bezos-rejects-rumors-quid-pro-quo-in-defense-of-the-washington-posts-nonendorsement\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"wrote\">wrote<\/a> in an op-ed explaining his decision. &ldquo;What presidential endorsements actually do is create a perception of bias. A perception of non-independence. Ending them is a principled decision, and it&rsquo;s the right one.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1911875\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1911875\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Big Tech leaders, including OpenAI&#8217;s Sam Altman, donate to Trump<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2653,"featured_media":2379998,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/AP24347566906844.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[23092,4303,37194,3634],"class_list":["post-2379997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-big-tech","tag-donations","tag-political-influence","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/AP24347566906844.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2379997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2653"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2379997"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2379997\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2380001,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2379997\/revisions\/2380001"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2379998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2379997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2379997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2379997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}