Silicon Valley's power brokers spent the past year courting President Trump, showering him with praise and gifts in a desperate bid to curry favor. But after two deadly shootings in Minneapolis - one of which involved the murder of a 37-year-old nurse who was on her way home from work - the tech CEOs are finally starting to realize that their silence may not have been golden.
The tragic events in Minneapolis, where Alex Pretti's life was cut short by a masked gunman, have exposed the true extent of the tech industry's complicity with Trump's presidency. In the past year, CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos had enthusiastically courted the president, donating millions to his inauguration fund and lavishing praise on him in public.
But while some executives, like Sergey Brin and Larry Page, had spoken out against Trump's immigration policies during his first term, others have remained eerily silent. And now that Pretti's murder has left the nation reeling, even the most low-key of CEOs are starting to make amends.
Take Tim Cook, for example. Just days after attending a White House screening of Melania Trump's vanity documentary, he released an internal memo expressing his "heartbreak" over the events in Minneapolis and sharing his views with the president. While it remains to be seen whether these views were stronger than the tepid empathy expressed in his memo, one thing is clear: Cook has finally started to realize that silence may not have been the best policy.
This shift in behavior comes as a welcome change for many who have long felt that the tech industry was too quick to bend over backwards to appease Trump. As Minnesota Governor Tim Walz put it, "We're no longer having a political debate; we're having a moral debate." And with CEOs like Sam Altman and Daniela Amodei starting to speak out against Trump's policies, there may be hope that the tech industry will finally start to take a stand.
But for now, at least, it seems that many in Silicon Valley are still struggling to find their voice. Even as they acknowledge that Pretti's murder was a turning point, few have spoken out explicitly against Trump's policies or actions. And while some executives may be quietly working behind the scenes to push back against his presidency, others remain steadfastly silent.
As the situation continues to unfold, one thing is clear: the tech industry will never be seen in the same light again. The events of the past year have left a scar on its conscience, and it remains to be seen how many CEOs will take steps to heal that wound.
The tragic events in Minneapolis, where Alex Pretti's life was cut short by a masked gunman, have exposed the true extent of the tech industry's complicity with Trump's presidency. In the past year, CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos had enthusiastically courted the president, donating millions to his inauguration fund and lavishing praise on him in public.
But while some executives, like Sergey Brin and Larry Page, had spoken out against Trump's immigration policies during his first term, others have remained eerily silent. And now that Pretti's murder has left the nation reeling, even the most low-key of CEOs are starting to make amends.
Take Tim Cook, for example. Just days after attending a White House screening of Melania Trump's vanity documentary, he released an internal memo expressing his "heartbreak" over the events in Minneapolis and sharing his views with the president. While it remains to be seen whether these views were stronger than the tepid empathy expressed in his memo, one thing is clear: Cook has finally started to realize that silence may not have been the best policy.
This shift in behavior comes as a welcome change for many who have long felt that the tech industry was too quick to bend over backwards to appease Trump. As Minnesota Governor Tim Walz put it, "We're no longer having a political debate; we're having a moral debate." And with CEOs like Sam Altman and Daniela Amodei starting to speak out against Trump's policies, there may be hope that the tech industry will finally start to take a stand.
But for now, at least, it seems that many in Silicon Valley are still struggling to find their voice. Even as they acknowledge that Pretti's murder was a turning point, few have spoken out explicitly against Trump's policies or actions. And while some executives may be quietly working behind the scenes to push back against his presidency, others remain steadfastly silent.
As the situation continues to unfold, one thing is clear: the tech industry will never be seen in the same light again. The events of the past year have left a scar on its conscience, and it remains to be seen how many CEOs will take steps to heal that wound.
I'm loving how this is all coming together now. I mean, we've been talking about this for ages and how some of these execs were too quick to play nice with Trump 
... but what really got me was when people started saying "silence may not have been golden". I'm thinking back to like 2022 when Elon Musk's tweets were all over the news 
. He could've just kept his head down and stayed quiet, but instead he chose to speak out and now we're seeing some real growth 
... or at least I hope so! 
. It's about time they realized that just being silent didn't make them immune from criticism 
. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's good to see them acknowledging the pain of Alex Pretti's family and all 
.
. The way they fawned all over Trump last year was pretty cringeworthy 
. I'm glad some CEOs are starting to take a stand now, but it feels like they're only doing it after being called out 
.
. Until then, they'll still be seen as complicit in Trump's policies 
. And honestly? I'm kinda excited to see how this plays out 
. Maybe we'll finally get some real change in the tech industry 
.
. It feels like they were just waiting for the perfect moment to jump on the moral bandwagon. And honestly, it's kinda weird that some of them are still being so soft about Trump's policies... I mean, come on, a nurse got murdered in Minneapolis and you're still silent? 
still thinkin bout how much money they gave to his inauguration fund 
and tim cook just released a memo sayin he's got a heartbreak over pretti's murdurd 
, but still so many of these tech execs are playing it too safe, like tim cook just released a memo but its more like a watered down apology rather than actual change, we need to see some real action from these guys 
, and what's with the late entry by sam altman & daniela amodei? shouldn't they've been speaking out sooner? anyway, one thing is for sure, this tragedy in minneapolis has given the tech industry a wake-up call 
. It's not just about speaking out against Trump, it's also about acknowledging the impact of their actions (or lack thereof) on issues like gun control and police brutality 
. As for Cook releasing an internal memo, that's a good step, but we need to see more concrete action from CEOs 
. Let's hope this is just the beginning of a shift towards more responsible corporate citizenship 
.
.
. I mean, we've been saying that for years - you can't just pretend like everything is okay when something is clearly not 
. And yeah, maybe some of them were too scared to speak out because of the fear of losing access or whatever, but now they're finally starting to understand that their silence was complicity in some way.
. It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out and whether the tech industry will actually take responsibility for its actions 
it's weird how they only spoke out after someone died... some of them are finally speaking up but others are still silent, like what's the point of releasing a memo if you're not really going to say anything concrete 
but honestly, why should they've been silent in the first place? 
. They were too busy rubbing shoulders with Trump and getting a pat on the back 
? Will they be able to move beyond just "oh no, poor Alex" 
