Big Tech CEOs are calling up Trump, seeking to rekindle their relationship with the former president ahead of Election Day
CNN
Top executives at some of the country’s largest tech companies have sought out Donald Trump ahead of Election Day, looking to get an audience with the former president as the likelihood he returns to the Oval Office sits at a coin flip.
Top executives at some of the country’s largest tech companies have sought out Donald Trump ahead of Election Day, looking to get an audience with the former president as the likelihood he returns to the Oval Office sits at a coin flip. Trump and Apple CEO Tim Cook chatted last week about the iPhone maker’s ongoing legal issues in Europe, the former president divulged in an interview Thursday. Later in the day, Trump told a Las Vegas audience that the “head of Google,” who is CEO Sundar Pichai, called to marvel over the Republican nominee’s campaign stop slinging french fries at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s. “He said, ‘This is one of the hottest things. We have never seen anything like this,’” Trump recalled. He retold the story Friday on Joe Rogan’s podcast and identified the executive as Pichai. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy also recently reached out to check in with the former president, two sources familiar with their phone call told CNN. And Mark Zuckerberg called him up this summer after the first failed assassination attempt on Trump, during which the Meta CEO told the Republican nominee he admired the way he handled the shooting and wished him a quick recovery, a person familiar with the conversation said. Despite their once fraught relationship, the two have spoken glowingly about each other through the media in the months since. The stepped-up push by some of the world’s most influential Big Tech leaders to speak with the former president ahead of Election Day comes amid an exceptionally tight race between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. And it’s the latest sign of the greater business community seeking to rekindle a relationship with the former president in anticipation of a potential second term. Trump had already counted Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X and Tesla, as a supporter and a financial force pumping more than $100 million into the machine to get him elected. Musk at one point had said he had no plans to donate to either presidential campaign after a March meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. But lately, the world’s richest man has dangled daily $1 million cash prizes to people who register to vote and sign a petition affirming their support for the rights to free speech and bear arms, a scheme the Department of Justice has warned could be illegal. Musk has put at least $118 million into a super PAC supporting Trump’s White House bid. Other Silicon Valley executives have also used their sizable platforms and deep pockets to boost the former president.
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