Tech CEOs are struggling to stay silent after the tragic shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old Department of Veterans Affairs ICU nurse, in Minneapolis. The event has exposed the price they paid for courting President Trump during his first term.
In 2016, just days after Donald Trump's election victory, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said it was "a pretty crazy idea" to think that his company had anything to do with the outcome. Then, just a few months later, Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, expressed similar sentiments when they met at a breakfast place in Palo Alto.
However, since then, the behavior of many tech CEOs has changed dramatically. Instead of objecting to Trump's policies and cooperating with the federal government, many executives have chosen to flatter the president and make deals with him.
Companies like Facebook, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft have all contributed millions of dollars to Trump's inauguration, his future presidential library, and a new ballroom in the White House. In return, they hoped to avoid tariffs and regulations that might impact their businesses.
But after Pretti's murder, some executives began to realize that silence was not always golden. Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, posted an internal Slack message expressing his disagreement with Trump's policies on immigration. Then, company president Daniela Amodei wrote a statement on LinkedIn condemning the violence in Minnesota and calling for greater freedom and civil liberties.
The CEOs of 60 Minnesota-based companies also released a joint letter calling for federal and local officials to de-escalate tensions. The event marked a turning point for some tech executives, who had previously been hesitant to speak out against Trump's policies.
Now, as they reflect on their past actions, many are wondering why they didn't act collectively in their own interests instead of capitulating alone. Some have even started to question the wisdom of courting a president who seems increasingly divisive and unpredictable.
While it remains to be seen how this shift will play out, one thing is clear: the behavior of tech CEOs has changed, and some are starting to find their voices.
In 2016, just days after Donald Trump's election victory, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said it was "a pretty crazy idea" to think that his company had anything to do with the outcome. Then, just a few months later, Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, expressed similar sentiments when they met at a breakfast place in Palo Alto.
However, since then, the behavior of many tech CEOs has changed dramatically. Instead of objecting to Trump's policies and cooperating with the federal government, many executives have chosen to flatter the president and make deals with him.
Companies like Facebook, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft have all contributed millions of dollars to Trump's inauguration, his future presidential library, and a new ballroom in the White House. In return, they hoped to avoid tariffs and regulations that might impact their businesses.
But after Pretti's murder, some executives began to realize that silence was not always golden. Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, posted an internal Slack message expressing his disagreement with Trump's policies on immigration. Then, company president Daniela Amodei wrote a statement on LinkedIn condemning the violence in Minnesota and calling for greater freedom and civil liberties.
The CEOs of 60 Minnesota-based companies also released a joint letter calling for federal and local officials to de-escalate tensions. The event marked a turning point for some tech executives, who had previously been hesitant to speak out against Trump's policies.
Now, as they reflect on their past actions, many are wondering why they didn't act collectively in their own interests instead of capitulating alone. Some have even started to question the wisdom of courting a president who seems increasingly divisive and unpredictable.
While it remains to be seen how this shift will play out, one thing is clear: the behavior of tech CEOs has changed, and some are starting to find their voices.
. It's crazy to think that a few years ago, Mark Zuckerberg was saying that Facebook had no influence on Trump's election 
... now it seems like they're all too eager to curry favor with the President 
. I mean, who wouldn't want to avoid tariffs and regulations? But at what cost? 
It's like they're realizing now that silence wasn't always golden 
. Sam Altman's post was a great step in the right direction - it takes courage to speak out, especially when it's unpopular 
. I hope more CEOs follow suit and use their platforms for good 
️. It's about time they started putting people over profits 
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Can't believe these guys were so quiet on the issues when they had the chance... I mean, who wouldn't want to take a stand against a president who's literally shot an ICU nurse? 
Guess it takes a tragedy like this for them to remember they have a voice. And now that they've found their "voice", we can only hope they don't lose it again by being too scared to speak truth. 
At least some of them are finally coming around... wonder if the others will follow suit 
I'm not surprised at all that these CEOs are coming out of their shells after Alex Pretti's tragic death. It's about time they realized that speaking up isn't just the right thing to do, but also good business sense. I mean, who wants to be associated with a president who's been known to spark violence and division? 
But what really gets me is how they all thought they could get away with this "strategic" flattery while still trying to protect their interests. Newsflash: you can't buy influence or avoid regulations by just giving a few million bucks to the Trump inauguration fund. 
anyway in all seriousness though alex pretti's murder is super tragic 
like why did they all flock to trump's inauguration in the first place? 
i mean its not fair that she got shot and now these tech ceos are talking about speaking out more yeah thats a good thing they should speak up for things that matter like healthcare and stuff 
i mean sam altman saying something on slack about immigration is a good start but we need to see more from them and other CEOs too 
but then some poor nurse gets gunned down in Minneapolis and suddenly they've got a conscience 
meanwhile, the rest of us are just over here trying to make sense of this wild ride 
like what was the logic behind all that Trump cash 
they should've done this ages ago, instead of just lining their pockets with cash 
. I'm talking about Facebook, Amazon, Google, Microsoft... all those big players who just went along with Trump's toxic ideology and hoped for the best 
... I'm so glad these CEOs are starting to realize that their silence wasn't golden 
. They should've done this a long time ago, especially after all the money they were making off Trump's inauguration 
. I mean, what took them so long? They've been making bank off the back of their companies while this guy was in office 
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. Maybe this is a sign of the growing awareness among people that we can't just remain silent in the face of injustice 
still so many questions about what motivated these CEOs to suddenly become vocal... some say it's just good business sense to avoid controversy, but others claim it's a matter of personal conscience 
. I mean, I get why they might want to avoid tariffs and regulations, but at what cost? Their silence was seen as a way to curry favor with Trump, but now it's like they're saying "oh no, we were wrong"