""Friends of mine who live in the area called last night to ask me not to go forward with the surge," Trump wrote. Who are these "friends"? Trump named "great people like [Nvidia CEO] Jensen Huang, [Salesforce CEO] Marc Benioff, and others" who told him that "the future of San Francisco is great. They want to give it a 'shot.' Therefore, we will not surge San Francisco on Saturday. Stay tuned!""
"Ludicrously wealthy tech execs have exerted unparalleled sway over Trump in the last year. Not content with obsequious flattery-at one recent White House dinner, Sam Altman called Trump "a pro-business, pro-innovation president" who was "a very refreshing change," while Tim Cook praised the legendarily mercurial Trump's "focus and your leadership"-tech leaders have also given Trump shiny awards, built him a bulletproof ballroom, and donated massive sums to help him get elected."
Donald Trump said he had planned a troop "surge" into San Francisco but was persuaded not to proceed after calls from wealthy tech executives, including Jensen Huang and Marc Benioff. Tech leaders have lavished praise, awards, and donations on Trump and cultivated access through flattering public statements and private engagements. Many of these executives have significant business interests before the federal government and specific policy asks related to AI regulation, crypto, tariffs, and contracts. Tech executives are influencing urban security decisions, exemplified by Marc Benioff's concern about safety at Dreamforce and hiring extensive security amid reports of public drug use and sanitation problems.
Read at Ars Technica
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]