--- title: "Tech CEOs Bent Over Backwards for Trump and Their “Reward” Has Been Horrible" description: "Tech CEOs spent millions of dollars on donations to president Donald Trump's campaign and inauguration. Their reward has been terrible." date: "2025-04-09" modified: "2025-04-09" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/tech-ceos-trump-reward" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "artificial intelligence" - "big tech" - "ceos" - "donald trump" --- # Tech CEOs Bent Over Backwards for Trump and Their “Reward” Has Been Horrible ![Tech CEOs spent millions of dollars on donations to president Donald Trump's campaign and inauguration. Their reward has been terrible.]() *\Image: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images\* Tech CEOs spent millions of dollars on donations to president Donald Trump's campaign and inauguration, and by bending the knee after he was elected. But instead of facing a reinvigorated and less regulated tech market in return, they've instead gotten a kick in the teeth. As the [*New York Times* reports](), Trump's disastrous tariff war has caused the [global stock market to crater](), sending economic uncertainty soaring. And the global supply chains that big tech companies have been relying on for decades have been thrown into chaos. Even investment in the hottest thing in tech right now — artificial intelligence — [could take a massive hit](), as the cost of building out already-expensive data centers is expected to rise dramatically. It's a bizarre situation. Trump himself has appeared keen to keep the AI gravy train going, overseeing the [signing of a $500 billion AI infrastructure deal]() dubbed Stargate. Yet his trade war could make AI companies' commitments difficult to hold up in the longterm as foreign-made chips could soon spike in price. In short, Trump's trade war could lead to a major falling out with big tech. Apple, in particular, has felt the hurt, reportedly [flying planes full of iPhones]() into the US ahead of Trump's latest round of tariffs coming into effect. That's despite Apple CEO Tim Cook cozying up to Trump, donating $1 million to his inauguration and [promising to spend half a trillion dollars]() in the US back in February. But despite paying lip service to the idea of moving manufacturing to the US, Apple hasn't fulfilled that promise for any of its major products. Instead, it tried to lower its reliance on China by moving assembly lines to India and Vietnam instead — countries that have since been hit with 26 and 46 percent tariffs, respectively. Tech CEOs who were hoping to encounter fewer regulatory hurdles with the Trump administration could soon face even more headwinds. The White House has signaled that it's looking to continue Biden-era antitrust cases looking to break up big tech companies, per the *NYT*. "Big Tech has run wild for years, stifling competition in our most innovative sector and, as we all know, using its market power to crack down on the rights of so many Americans, as well as those of Little Tech!" Trump [wrote in a January post]() on Truth Social. In short, tech leaders' efforts to get in the president's good graces are far from paying off. Just last week, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg [visited the White House]() to beg him to settle an antitrust lawsuit against the company. Legislators are worried Trump [could simply drop the case](), an investigation that has been going on for almost six years. Even after prostrating himself to Trump, though, it's easy to imagine that the president will simply allow the case to proceed. **More on Trump:** *[Elon Musk Reportedly Begged Donald Trump to Reverse the Tariffs]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()