News emerged Thursday that Apple CEO Tim Cook joined other technology executives at the White House for a dinner with President Donald Trump. The event, hosted by First Lady Melania Trump, brought together leaders from some of the world’s largest tech companies to discuss artificial intelligence, chip manufacturing, and domestic investment.
Executives present included OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and IBM’s Arvind Krishna. During the dinner, each guest was asked to comment on Trump’s role in shaping business and technology policy.
Praise for Trump’s Investment
According to The Wall Street Journal, the meeting resembled Trump’s cabinet-style gatherings, where participants took turns acknowledging his efforts. Altman thanked Trump for being “such a pro-business, pro-innovation president,” contrasting the current climate with the Biden administration. Cook highlighted Apple’s domestic investments, citing the company’s $600 billion American Manufacturing Program. He credited Trump’s leadership for creating an environment that allowed Apple to expand production in the United States.
The Journal also reported that Trump questioned Pichai about Google’s recent win in an antitrust case. A federal judge rejected the Justice Department’s push for stronger penalties, preserving Google’s partnerships with Apple and Mozilla. “You had a very good day yesterday,” Trump told Pichai. The Alphabet chief replied, “I’m glad it’s over.” Trump then remarked that the lawsuit had been brought under Biden’s administration.
Rain forced the dinner indoors despite earlier plans to debut the newly paved Rose Garden. Executives, along with administration officials including AI and crypto adviser David Sacks, joined the president and First Lady in the dining room. Trump opened the discussion by pointing to the challenge of securing enough electricity for AI data centers. He said his administration was working to ease access to the grid and streamline permits.
Several major companies announced AI education commitments earlier in the day during a roundtable hosted by Melania Trump. Microsoft, Nvidia, IBM, Amazon, Google, and OpenAI pledged resources to strengthen AI education across the United States.
Notably absent from the dinner were Tesla’s Elon Musk and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang. Musk has had a tense relationship with Trump since leaving a White House advisory role, though the two have been publicly conciliatory more recently. Huang, who has lobbied successfully for Nvidia’s chip sales in China, reportedly prefers one-on-one meetings with the administration.
The evening underscored the industry’s desire to remain aligned with the Trump administration as debates over AI, antitrust policy, and technology regulation intensify.
