Trump hosts tech titans, minus estranged top supporter Elon Musk
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump hosted a high-powered group of tech executives at the White House on Thursday as he showcased research on artificial intelligence and boasted of investments that companies are making around the United States.
“This is taking our country to a new level,” he said at the center of a long table surrounded by what he described as “high IQ people.”
It was the latest example of a delicate two-way courtship between Trump and tech leaders, several of whom attended his inauguration. Trump has exulted in the attention from some of the world’s most successful businesspeople, while the companies are eager to remain on the good side of the mercurial president.
While the executives praised Trump and talked about their hopes for technological advancement, the Republican president was focused on dollar signs. He went around the table and asked executives how much they were investing in the country.
Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, who sat to Trump’s right, said $600 billion. Apple’s Tim Cook said the same. Google’s Sundar Pichai said $250 billion.
