Big tech CEOs were quick to send their congragulatory messages to President-elect Donald Trump despite his threat to some of them, mainly Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Zuckerberg took to his social media platform to recognize the results of the elections and to give Trump a congratulatory message despite the latter’s previous statement about imprisoning him should he do something illegal.
“We are watching him closely, and if he does anything illegal this time he will spend the rest of his life in prison — as will others who cheat in the 2024 Presidential Election,” Trump wrote about Zuckerberg in his book, NBC News reported.
Zuckerberg, on Threads wrote, “Congratulations to President Trump on a decisive victory.”
“We have great opportunities ahead of us as a country. Looking forward to working with you and your administration,” he added as per a report on New York Post.
Aside from Zuckerberg, other CEOs of Big Tech companies also congratulated Trump.
Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Apple CEO Tim Cook, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and Amazon Executive Chair Jeff Bezos, all sent their well wishes to the Republican.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has previously expressed his support to Trump, and was even promised by the latter a cabinet position in the event that the Republican candidate would return to the White House.
Musk was one of the biggest financial supporters of Trump during the campaign. Musk’s super PAC has helped boost the chances of a Trump victory. The PAC has spent more than $152 million for the campaign, based on the filing with the Federal Election Commission.
Aside from Musk, the latter’s wealthy tech friends also jumped in to boost Trump’s candidacy. Investors like David Sacks and Peter Thiel also poured money into Trump’s campaign. There were also fundraising and public endorsements done.
With Trump’s win, there will be a shift in the political landscape in Silicon Valley. Those who have openly supported Trump may very likely earn his favor. Those who were adamant initially, are left with little choice but to at least try to work with him, or perhaps even seek his favor in regulatory matters, at least for the next four years.
