President Trump touted the newfound support he has received from major technology leaders in his second term Thursday, claiming they are now “kissing” his “a‑‑.”
“If you look at some of these internet people, I know so many of them. Elon [Musk] is so terrific,” Trump said during a commencement speech at the University of Alabama. “You know, they all hated me in my first term, and now they’re kissing my a‑‑.”
“You know, it’s amazing. It’s nicer this way,” he added.
Trump was referring to the various leaders of Silicon Valley, who had a tumultuous relationship with the president in his first term at the White House.
Four years later, several of these same leaders, such as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, tried to mend fences with the president ahead of his second term.
Zuckerberg and Bezos, along with other top tech leaders including Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Microsoft President Brad Smith, all made separate trips to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in the weeks leading up to the inauguration.
Some, including longtime Democratic donor Sam Altman, the co-founder and CEO of OpenAI, also donated to Trump’s inaugural committee.
Musk was the first to make good with the president over the summer, joining him on the campaign trail and raising nearly $250 million for his reelection. He is now one of the president’s top allies and leads Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency cost-cutting initiative.
“In the first [term], they didn’t know what happened, because I won an election that … there was never a businessman that won a presidential election,” Trump said, adding later, “And when I ran, everyone said, ‘Well, I can’t win. He’s a businessman. That’s not going to work.'”
“You know, but you have a natural instinct for things. I guess I had a natural … I said to somebody, ‘Was I a better businessman or politician?’ And they said, ‘Well, there are a lot of guys that made a lot of money, but there’s only guy that became president that was a businessman, so I guess you’re a better politician.'”
The president said he does not think of himself as a politician, but rather a businessman who has applied a “business instinct” in the Oval Office.
While the tech leaders worked to curry favor with the president earlier this year, some of Trump’s policies have left their companies scrambling.
From Trump’s fluctuating approach to tariffs, the administration’s continued allegations of censorship and decision to push forward with antitrust enforcement, the president’s first 100 days did not shield Big Tech as some observers had predicted.
