‘A Very Refreshing Change’: Tech CEOs Praise Trump During White House Dinner

Multiple Big Tech leaders, including some who have opposed President Donald Trump in recent years, joined the president for a White House dinner on Thursday and praised him for his “pro-business, pro-innovation” actions.

Apple CEO Tim Cook and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman both thanked Trump at the presidential dinner that was also attended by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, IBM CEO and Chairman Arvind Krishna, and Oracle CEO Safra Catz.

“I want to thank you for setting the tone such that we could make a major investment in the United States and have some key manufacturing, advanced manufacturing here,” Cook told Trump. “I think that says a lot about your focus and your leadership and your focus on innovation. I also want to thank you for helping American companies around the world. This is a really key thing, and I really enjoy working with your administration on those topics as well.”

.@Apple CEO @tim_cook: “I want to thank you for setting the tone such that we could make a major [$600 billion] investment in the United States… That says a lot about your focus and your leadership and your focus on innovation.” pic.twitter.com/289vkiB6vy

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 5, 2025

Since Trump took office in January, Apple has announced $600 billion of investments in the United States, including plans to build an artificial intelligence server factory in Texas and start a new manufacturing program that will focus on bringing more of Apple’s supply chain to the United States.

Altman, the head of OpenAI, also praised Trump, saying, “Thank you for being such a pro-business, pro-innovation president. It’s a very refreshing change. We’re very excited to see what you’re doing to make all of our companies and our entire country so successful.”

“The investment that’s happening here, the ability to get the power of the industry back, I think that’s going to set us up for a long period of great success leading the world,” Altman added. “And I don’t think that would be happening without your leadership.”

Altman said that he believes the expansion of the AI industry in the United States “will transform the world in a profound way.”

.@OpenAI CEO Sam Altman: “Thank you for being such a pro-business, pro-innovation President. It’s a very refreshing change…The investment that’s happening here, the ability to get the power of the industry back… I don’t think that would be happening without your leadership.” pic.twitter.com/suGDIJFlx8

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 5, 2025

President Trump praised the “high IQ” group of tech titans, adding, “The most brilliant people are gathered at this table.”

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who recently had a public falling out with Trump, stated that he was also invited to the dinner but was unable to attend.

“I was invited, but unfortunately could not attend. A representative of mine will be there,” Musk posted on his social media platform, X.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates was also in attendance, seated next to first lady Melania Trump, while Zuckerberg sat to the right of the president. Some conservatives, including pro-Trump activist Laura Loomer, were enraged that Gates and Zuckerberg got an invite to the dinner.

“Zuckerberg and Gates belong in prison. Not at the dinner table with President Trump,” Loomer wrote on X. She said that the tech executives are two “of the biggest funders of anti-Trump and leftist activism in our country,” arguing that Zuckerberg helped rig the 2020 election against Trump.

During the dinner, Zuckerberg announced that Meta plans to invest “at least $600 billion” in the United States in the coming years to build out data centers and infrastructure to power the next wave of innovation.”

Catz, the head of Oracle, told Trump that “AI is going to change everything.”

“The fact that you are our President and you recognized this right away, and you’ve unleashed American innovation and creativity, all the work your doing and basically every Cabinet post in addition to what’s coming out of the White House is making it possible for America to win,” she added.

.@Oracle CEO Safra Catz: “AI is going to change everything… The fact that you are our President and you recognized this right away, and you’ve unleashed American innovation and creativity… is making it possible for America to WIN.” pic.twitter.com/gWfrUHhc9R

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 5, 2025

Before the dinner, some of the tech executives — including Altman, Pichai, and Krishna — attended a roundtable hosted by the first lady, which focused on AI in education. Google and OpenAI, along with Microsoft, Amazon, IBM, and Nvidia, also announced commitments to investing in AI education on Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported.