"Silicon Valley technology companies' cozy relationship with President Donald Trump appears to be deepening and bearing fruit, as firms and their leaders show fealty with gifts, policies, and public statements of support, and CEOs show their ability to influence the President on matters of politics and business. In recent weeks, the White House has confirmed that Google, Meta, Apple, and HP donated to the construction of Trump's new White House ballroom,"
"Google and YouTube parent Alphabet in late September agreed to pay $22 million toward the ballroom, in a settlement over a lawsuit by Trump over his suspension from YouTube after the January 6 insurrection. In similar cases, Meta agreed to pay $22 million toward Trump's presidential library, and X agreed to pay a settlement of about $10 million. At Trump's inauguration in January, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Apple CEO Tim Cook sat behind the President."
"Google and Meta donated $1 million each to Trump's inauguration committee, as did Cook and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman personally. in August, Trump announced that the U.S. was taking a 10 percent stake in Intel, and chipmakers Nvidia and AMD agreed to pay the government 15 percent of their AI chip sales in China. The same month, Apple's Cook, facing the possibility of steep tariffs affecting the price of iPhones, gave Trump a plaque with a 24-karat gold bar as a base,"
Major Silicon Valley firms have increased financial and symbolic support for President Donald Trump through donations, settlements, gifts, and public displays. Google, Meta, Apple, HP and others contributed to construction of a new White House ballroom and paid settlements tied to Trump-related disputes, while CEOs attended the inauguration and made personal donations. The administration secured economic concessions including a U.S. stake in Intel and agreements requiring Nvidia and AMD to pay portions of AI chip sales in China. Apple won tariff exemptions after announcing large domestic investment, and executives used gifts and public statements to reinforce political and business influence.
Read at The Mercury News
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