New York, NY — Jack Nicas and Rolfe Winkler reported in The Wall Street Journal that President-elect Donald Trump struck a conciliatory tone at a much-anticipated meeting with some of his most prominent opponents on December 14, offering to work with Silicon Valley executives to foster innovation and support fairer trade deals.
Part public spectacle, part private discussion, the 90-minute meeting in Trump Tower in New York marked the first time Mr. Trump met leaders of some of the nation’s most valuable companies, most of whom had supported Hillary Clinton during the campaign, and several of whom were the targets of criticism from Mr. Trump.
“I’m here to help you folks do well,” Mr. Trump told 13 tech executives, seated with about a dozen Trump team and family members around a large rectangular table.
Tech leaders in attendance included:
Part public spectacle, part private discussion, the 90-minute meeting in Trump Tower in New York marked the first time Mr. Trump met leaders of some of the nation’s most valuable companies, most of whom had supported Hillary Clinton during the campaign, and several of whom were the targets of criticism from Mr. Trump.
“I’m here to help you folks do well,” Mr. Trump told 13 tech executives, seated with about a dozen Trump team and family members around a large rectangular table.
Tech leaders in attendance included:
The group discussed job creation, China, tax cuts, repatriating foreign assets, education, infrastructure, and eliminating rules that prevent U.S. firms from doing business abroad, according to a release from Mr. Trump’s transition team.
The group might meet as often as quarterly, the release said.
Mr. Trump’s commerce secretary-designate, billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, who also attended the meeting, told reporters the summit was “constructive” and that “both the tech guys and the administration got to know each other a lot better.”
The meeting also highlighted the ascendancy of billionaire investor Peter Thiel, who as one of the president-elect’s trusted advisers is at the axis of the political power shift in Silicon Valley.
Mr. Trump praised Mr. Thiel at the start of the meeting, “He’s ahead of the curve, and I want to thank you, man.”
Mr. Trump also said Mr. Thiel helped orchestrate the event, even personally nixing the inclusion of many companies that called wanting to attend. “And these are monster companies,” he said.
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- Jeff Bezos, Amazon
- Safra Catz, Oracle
- Tim Cook, Apple
- Alex Karp, Palantir
- Brian Krzanich, Intel
- Elon Musk, Tesla
- Satya Nadella, Microsoft
- Larry Page, Google
- Chuck Robbins, Cisco
- Ginni Rometty, IBM
- Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook
- Eric Schmidt, Google
The group discussed job creation, China, tax cuts, repatriating foreign assets, education, infrastructure, and eliminating rules that prevent U.S. firms from doing business abroad, according to a release from Mr. Trump’s transition team.
The group might meet as often as quarterly, the release said.
Mr. Trump’s commerce secretary-designate, billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, who also attended the meeting, told reporters the summit was “constructive” and that “both the tech guys and the administration got to know each other a lot better.”
The meeting also highlighted the ascendancy of billionaire investor Peter Thiel, who as one of the president-elect’s trusted advisers is at the axis of the political power shift in Silicon Valley.
Mr. Trump praised Mr. Thiel at the start of the meeting, “He’s ahead of the curve, and I want to thank you, man.”
Mr. Trump also said Mr. Thiel helped orchestrate the event, even personally nixing the inclusion of many companies that called wanting to attend. “And these are monster companies,” he said.
For the full story, click here.
