"The gist of Altman's sentiment-lavish praise for Trump, tempered with a polite disclaimer that it wasn't a blanket endorsement-was far closer to a love letter than a critique. But at least it broached the possibility of disagreement. Almost a year later, most tech executives who have commented on the president have tended to follow a different principle: If you can't say something nice about Donald J. Trump, don't say anything at all."
"Shortly before Trump returned to the White House, I wrote about tech CEOs' attempts to newly ingratiate themselves with him, which included congratulatory social posts, million-dollar donations to his inauguration fund, and pilgrimages to Mar-a-Lago. I predicted that the era of good feelings would eventually run up against the certainty that the administration's policies, such as the promise of unprecedented mass deportations, would embroil it in controversy."
"What I didn't know was how overwhelming the assault on norms, the rule of law, and decency itself would be. Even a partial accounting of recent examples would include Renee Nicole Good's death and the rest of the crackdown in Minneapolis by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Venezuela. Greenland. RFK Jr. The Justice Department's targeting of James Comey, Letitia James, and Jerome Powell. Pardons. Epstein. Unbridled racism. Possible war crimes."
Sam Altman publicly praised the new president while acknowledging some disagreements. Many tech executives have chosen silence or conciliatory gestures rather than public critique. Several executives posted congratulations, made million-dollar donations to the inauguration fund, and traveled to Mar-a-Lago to cultivate favor. Observers predicted that cordial relations would collide with controversial policies such as promised mass deportations. Subsequent months brought a relentless sequence of events perceived as assaults on norms, the rule of law, and decency, including enforcement-related deaths, international crises, high-profile legal actions, pardons, allegations involving Epstein, instances of unbridled racism, and possible war crimes. The stream of incidents ranged from heartbreaking to mind-numbing and continued unabated.
Read at Fast Company
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