Silicon Valley has never backed Trump. In fact, after his election, they made headlines when they proposed the idea of California leaving the United States — and they would fund it.
However, Trump is working hard to mend fences that he has broken over the election. He is now meeting with chief executives from many of the top tech firms in Silicon Valley. Despite the reasons for his meeting and the animosity between the two, Silicon Valley has always supported Hillary Clinton and attacked Trump. The meeting, however, offers benefits for both sides, if they can get along, reports The Hill.
End of a Bitter War?
Donald Trump and his war against Silicon Valley has been anything but pleasant. However, this meeting may have created a temporary cease-fire between the two parties.
Months after he slammed Apple, Facebook, and leaders of Amazon, the President-Elect has invited the same tech gurus to Trump Tower for a summit that he extended to them personally.
At the start of the meeting, Trump reminded these groups that there is no one else out there like them, reports Politico.
He said that anything he can do to help them, he would. This is his first early promise of cooperation that has marked a departure from the election. Trump had initially called for a boycott of Apple because of their stance on privacy, and he had pitted his aides against Facebook CEO and Amazon CEO for using their ownership of newspapers to slam Trump’s reputation.
Trump now proposes another meeting every quarter with the tech giants, reports Reuters.
The meeting focused on a variety of issues facing the tech industry, including job creation, taxes, trade issues with China, and skirting the issues that Trump has had with the tech industry in the past.
Three of Trump’s children were also at the meeting, including Ivanka, Donald Jr., and Eric.
Their attendance is likely to fuel the concerns of the conflict of interest between the Trump empire and his role as the president. Already, Trump has claimed that he would release his holdings on the business, only it appears that he is holding tightly and allowing his children to remain in the middle of the political and business side of things.
The Vice President-elect Pence was also present for the meeting.
Guests sat at the conference in front of nameplates and bottles of water that carried the Trump logo.
The meeting featured Tesla Motors, Apple, and Facebook.
During the campaign, Trump continually bashed Obama for creating a favoritism for the interests of Silicon Valley, however now he seems to be siding with the tech giants.
That being said, Trump feels that the tech industry must learn how to work with the same standards that all businesses are forced to adhere to as well. The meeting was his first step to figuring out how he could create regulations that would not stump their growth but ensure equality for all businesses.