A smattering of CEOs and top tech company leaders are currying favor with President-elect Trump, who has acknowledged with some awe that people who once went up against him now appear to be embracing the prospects of him becoming president.
Top names in the business community have made the trip down to Mar-a-Lago, Trump's Florida residence, to sit down with the president-elect, giving him a friendlier reception than the one he received after winning the 2016 election.
“EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE MY FRIEND!!!” Trump said Thursday on Truth Social after having dinner with Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post and reportedly yanked the newspaper's endorsement of Trump’s opponent, Vice President Harris, during the election.
During a press conference last week after he met with Apple’s Tim Cook, Trump said the “biggest difference” between his first administration and his second “is that people want to get along with me this time.”
“The first one they were very hostile … and this one is very much less hostile. It’s really the opposite of hostile,” he said.
In recent days, Google’s Sundar Pichai, Cook and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew all visited with Trump. Mark Zuckerberg, the head of Meta, met with Trump last month. Trump said Friday on Truth Social that former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates asked to go to Mar-a-Lago that night.
"Where are you? When are you coming to the 'Center of the Universe,' Mar-a-Lago. Bill Gates asked to come, tonight," he posted.
The meetings could mark a change in how the business community works with Trump in his second term, with the embrace either driven by knowing they need a seat at the table or fear of retribution.
Bruce Mehlman, a former official under President George W. Bush, described the difference between corporate America’s attitude toward Trump in 2016 and now as “massive.”
He added that CEOs especially want to engage with an administration “when they have a mandate and momentum.”
Trump won with 49.8 percent of the vote, gaining about 77 million votes compared to Harris’s 74.4 million. Trump told Time magazine he has a “massive” mandate after his victory.
However, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report argued last week that this election “proved that neither party can claim a mandate or even a lasting and pervasive political majority.”
A Republican strategist close to Trump's orbit reflected on how notable it is that Silicon Valley tycoons in particular are making their way down to Florida to sit with the incoming president.
“Now they’re like, you know what, we should come and kiss the ring, because Trump means deregulation. Some of them are worried that Elon might get a leg up on them when it comes to Silicon Valley. Somehow in this crazy situation, Trump has figured out how to get Silicon Valley, who bows to no one, to bow to him,” the source said, referring to billionaire Elon Musk.
Democratic lobbyists have also shared that their clients in the business community know they need to engage with Trump World.
“Every client we have knows that they're going to need to engage with the incoming administration, and so it makes sense that you want to have high-level engagement with the guy who's going to be in charge for the next four years,” a Democratic lobbyist said. “Everybody is trying to strategize on what makes the most sense for them, but I'm not terribly surprised to see a parade of CEOs and executives going down to Florida to meet with them.”
Major companies such as Amazon, Meta, OpenAI and Perplexity have also committed to donating $1 million each to Trump’s inaugural fund ahead of the January swearing-in.
Some in the business community are genuinely excited about working with the Trump administration, which could bring in less regulation and lower taxes for them.
Trump’s business-friendly policies gear toward deregulation in areas like digital assets and cryptocurrencies, and his administration could bring in more activity in the mergers and acquisitions space after the Biden administration’s crackdown on corporate consolidation.
He’s also said he wants to roll back regulations on climate and crack down on diversity initiatives that came from the Biden years. Meanwhile, Trump’s plans for steep new tariffs and mass deportations loom — two of the most serious and unpredictable obstacles facing businesses.
Sources note that at major global conferences like the World Economic Forum in Davos and the Future Investment Initiative (FII), business executives have expressed excitement about Trump back in the White House.
“I think for the business community, the president has proven himself with his policies generally, to be pro-business and good for business. If you go to any of the international conferences like FII or Davos, you hear corporate titans talking about their hope for less regulation, better tax structure, stuff like that,” said a longtime Democratic donor and bundler.
The source added, “So they're excited about working with his administration. I think that you've seen a very intentional, thorough preparation this time that didn’t exist last time.”
Some members of Trump’s team are getting a particularly warm reception from corporate America, including his pick for Treasury secretary, hedge fund manager Scott Bessent.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon hailed Bessent as a good choice, according to CNN, and Evercore Senior Chair Roger Altman and Trump’s former economic adviser Larry Kudlow backed him for the role, as reported by Time.
Trump found himself at the center of the business world recently when he rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange after he was named Time’s “Person of the Year,” greeting top business leaders on his visit. And, he had support from some on Wall Street even before he won, as he did from hedge fund manager Bill Ackman.
While CEOs flock to Mar-a-Lago, some argue they want to curry favor with Trump now with the expectation that they won’t always agree with him over the next four years.
“Look for places where you can work with this administration, partner with them, because there are likely going to be places where you can’t and where you need to speak out. And so, find the places where you can work with them early,” the Democratic lobbyist said.
Brett Samuels contributed to this report.
