In a stunning display of political reconciliation and economic maneuvering, President Donald Trump hosted a White House dinner on September 4, 2025, inviting tech titans who had previously played roles in deplatforming him from social media, funding opposition efforts, and even facing accusations of aiding legal pursuits against him during his first term and campaigns. Leaders like Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Apple’s Tim Cook, Google’s Sundar Pichai, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, and OpenAI’s Sam Altman—many of whom had been vocal critics or involved in content moderation that silenced Trump—gathered in the Rose Garden for what the president called a “high IQ” assembly. Despite past animosities, including Zuckerberg’s platform banning Trump post-January 6 and Google’s alleged search biases, the evening shifted to unity, with Trump basking in their presence as a symbol of his triumphant return to power.

During the dinner, these executives publicly pledged massive investments in American infrastructure, particularly in AI, chip manufacturing, and data centers, totaling hundreds of billions of dollars to bolster U.S. technological dominance. Zuckerberg announced Meta’s commitment of at least $600 billion through 2028, while Cook highlighted Apple’s plans for similar-scale spending on domestic projects, emphasizing job creation and innovation under Trump’s pro-business policies. Other leaders echoed praise for Trump’s agenda, with Altman and Pichai lauding his efforts to cut regulations and promote AI leadership, framing the pledges as a direct response to his calls for “America First” economics. The event, absent notable ally Elon Musk, underscored a pragmatic pivot by Silicon Valley elites, who now aligned with Trump to secure favorable tariffs and policies amid global competition from China.

The very next morning, on September 5, 2025, Trump escalated his economic nationalism by advancing a proposal to block U.S. IT companies from outsourcing work to Indian firms, a decision poised to dismantle India’s $250 billion IT services sector while repatriating millions of jobs to American workers. This move, targeting giants like TCS, Infosys, and Wipro that handle vast contracts for U.S. tech firms, aligns with Trump’s long-standing vows to curb H-1B visas and offshore hiring, potentially imposing tariffs or bans that could devastate India’s economy dependent on such exports. Critics in India warn of massive job losses, while U.S. supporters hail it as a bold step to prioritize domestic employment in AI and tech, following Trump’s earlier executive orders against foreign hiring and reinforcing his post-dinner leverage over the very leaders who once opposed him.