Before the Election, Tech C.E.O.s Were Quietly Courting Trump

The executives of tech’s biggest companies largely ignored Donald Trump before the 2016 election. This time around, they’re far more friendly.

When Donald J. Trump first campaigned for president eight years ago, tech executives largely ignored him. They later atoned for their disregard by making a televised walk through the lobby of Trump Tower in New York for a 90-minute meeting with the president-elect.

This election cycle, tech leaders have tried to avoid making the same mistake. Executives such as Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai started reaching out to Mr. Trump directly in the weeks and months before the first ballot was cast.

They flattered him. They shared their troubles. They criticized his opposition. They emphasized common enemies.

The change in strategy speaks to what business leaders learned during the first Trump presidency and illustrates how they have adapted their approach before Mr. Trump returns to the White House. Believing that his political positions are fluid and his actions are often transactional, they are forging direct relationships they hope will benefit their businesses.

In his first term, Mr. Trump criticized tech companies for manipulating coverage of him on their platforms and opposing his agenda. He was punitive with those he considered antagonists. In one instance, Amazon accused Mr. Trump of pressuring the Pentagon to cancel a cloud computing contract with the company because its founder, Jeff Bezos, owned The Washington Post.

But Mr. Trump heaped praise on Mr. Cook, the chief executive of Apple. He liked that Mr. Cook called him directly to discuss business and economic issues. Such direct engagement helped Apple avoid tariffs on many of its products, even as the Trump administration cracked down on other companies that were manufacturing in China.