Yesterday, Donald Trump announced on social media that he planned to “rush” troops into San Francisco this weekend — but was stopped from doing so by several tech billionaires.
“Friends of mine who live in the area called last night asking me not to continue with the surge,” Trump wrote.
Who are these “friends”? Trump called “great people like [Nvidia CEO] Jensen Huang, [Salesforce CEO] Marc Benioff and others” who told him that “San Francisco's future is great. They want to give it a chance. That's why we won't storm San Francisco on Saturday. Stay informed!”
Ridiculously wealthy tech executives have exerted unparalleled influence over Trump over the past year. Not content with obsequious flattery — at a recent White House dinner, Sam Altman called Trump “a pro-business, pro-innovation president” who was “a very refreshing change,” while Tim Cook praised the legendarily erratic Trump's “focus and your leadership” — tech leaders have also given Trump glittering awards, built him a bulletproof ballroom and donated vast amounts of money to help him get elected.
Most of these executives also have major business for the federal government and have specific “questions” around AI regulation, crypto, tariffs, regulations, and government contracts.
Now tech executives are even helping shape the militarization of American cities.
Take Benioff, for example. On October 10, he gave an interview to The New York Times in which he spoke to a reporter “by phone from his private plane en route to San Francisco.” (Benioff now lives in Hawaii most of the time.)
His big annual “Dreamforce” conference was about to take place in San Francisco, and Benioff lamented the fact that he had to hire so much security to make attendees feel safe. (Over the past decade, several Ars staffers have witnessed several unpleasant incidents involving urine, sidewalk feces, and drug use during visits to downtown San Francisco, so concerns about the city are not illusory, though critics say they are exaggerated.)
