Donald Trump To Tech Leaders: I'm On Your Side

Donald Trump To Tech Leaders: I'm On Your Side President-elect Donald Trump met with top leaders from the country’s most prominent technology companies on Wednesday in what was supposed to be a discussion about jobs and shaping America's future. Instead, few specifics were discussed, at least in public, as Trump spoke in generalities on how he could work with Silicon Valley titans like Apple and Facebook. “I want to add that I’m here to help you folks do well, and you’re doing well right now,” he said to a room that included Apple CEO Tim Cook, Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos and Alphabet CEO Larry Page. “There’s nobody like you in the world.” While Trump is a neophyte when it comes to using consumer technology--he reportedly does not use email--the president-elect comprehends the importance of the sector to American progress. Despite this, he has maintained a frosty relationship with technology’s most important companies. During the election, virtually none of the industry’s leaders supported him, many backed his opponent Hillary Clinton and some openly challenged his temperament and qualifications for the nation’s highest office. Wednesday’s heavily-publicized meeting at Manhattan’s Trump Tower was perhaps the first step towards conciliation, as Trump--flanked by Vice President-elect Mike Pence and transition team member Peter Thiel--smiled for news cameras, which were allowed for at least part of the event, and boasted of his post-election "bounce." Thiel, the only Silicon Valley luminary to openly back Trump with his money and influence prior to the election, sat directly to Trump’s left, and received rich praise for his backing. “I want to start by thanking Peter because he saw something very early, maybe before we saw it, and of course he’s known for that in a different way, but he’s been so true I think, and so outstanding,” said Trump, later awkwardly clasping the venture capitalist’s right palm with his two hands. “He’s ahead of the curve and I want to thank him,” Trump said to open the meeting. After shaking Thiel’s hand, Trump turned his attention to the rest of the room, which included Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Oracle CEO Safra Catz, Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins, IBM CEO Ginni Rometty, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich, Alphabet Chairman Eric Schmidt and Palantir Technologies CEO Alexander Karp. Also attending the meeting were Trump’s three oldest children: Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump, Jr. Among those who had criticized Trump prior to the election was Bezos, who said at a conference in May that Trump should develop “a thick skin.” Bezos, whose Washington Post has heavily scrutinized Trump’s behavior and business practices, later sent a congratulatory tweet to Trump following his victory. “I found today’s meeting with the President-elect, his transition team, and tech leaders to be very productive," Bezos said in a statement. "I shared the view that the administration should make innovation one of its key pillars, which would create a huge number of jobs across the whole country, in all sectors, not just tech--agriculture, infrastructure, manufacturing--everywhere.” Trump said that many other company leaders had also wanted to be in the room, noting that his administration had received “hundreds of calls” requesting to attend, a statement that could not be immediately verified. Among those not attending was Jack Dorsey of Twitter, which one source told FORBES was too small of a company and didn’t have enough impact on jobs to be invited. On Wednesday, Politico reported that Twitter was also not invited due to a failed deal over special emojis for Trump’s campaign, attributing that to an unnamed source. A spokesperson for Twitter did not immediately return a request for comment. “I will say that Peter [Thiel] was sort of saying, ‘No, that company’s too small,’” Trump said in discussing the vetting process for the meeting. In the weeks since Trump’s election, few have seen their stock rise more than Thiel, who has evolved from a Trump donor and Republican National Convention speaker to a political power player within Trump Tower. As a member of the transition team, he is a key advisor on technology and science appointees and has recommended close friends and associates to administration positions. He helped organize and sent out invites to Wednesday’s event, despite being openly conflicted with some of the companies in attendance. Thiel is a Facebook board member; one of the largest shareholders in Palantir, a significant government contractor; and a founding partner at Founders Fund, an investor in SpaceX. Thiel will likely be responsible for bridging the gap to the tech industry, as suggested by Trump. "You'll call my people, you'll call me, it doesn't matter,” the President-elect told the room. “We have no formal chain of command around here." Those calls have already been happening to some degree. In a past interview w