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Donald Trump is proving disastrous for Big Tech
Silicon Valley’s stars are beset by trust-busters and the trade war.
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Since Mr Trump’s inauguration, the combined market value of Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft and Nvidia has fallen by US$2.3 trillion.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The Economist
In the weeks after the re-election of Mr Donald Trump, the bosses of America’s tech giants worked hard to ingratiate themselves with the returning President, congratulating him publicly and dutifully turning up for his inauguration. Mr Mark Zuckerberg, the boss of Meta, gushed that it was nice to have an administration that was “proud” of America’s tech champions.
There was good reason for the obsequiousness. During the campaign, Mr Trump referred to Meta as an “enemy of the people”. Many in his Maga movement have accused America’s tech giants of censoring right-wing views. In 2021, Mr J.D. Vance, now Mr Trump’s Vice-President, called the behemoths “parasitic”. Even the techies surrounding Mr Trump, such as Mr Elon Musk, belong to a different Silicon Valley tribe that is suspicious of big tech.
