President Donald Trump told a crowd of college graduates that some of the biggest names in tech — people who once couldn’t stand him — are now falling over themselves to get close to him.
“If you look at some of these internet people, I know so many of them. Elon [Musk] is so terrific,” Trump said during his commencement speech at the University of Alabama. “You know, they all hated me in my first term, and now they’re kissing my a‑‑.”
He added, “You know, it’s amazing. It’s nicer this way.”
Trump was talking about Silicon Valley elites — the same group that clashed with him during his first run in the White House. Back then, CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos had little love for the president. But now, with Trump back in office, many of them have come around.
In the weeks before Trump’s second inauguration, tech leaders made their way to Mar-a-Lago — one by one. Zuckerberg, Bezos, Apple’s Tim Cook, and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella all visited. Even longtime Democrat and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman chipped in money for Trump’s inaugural committee.
But it was Elon Musk who moved first. Over the summer, he backed Trump publicly, hit the campaign trail, and helped rake in nearly $250 million for his re-election effort. Now, Musk is one of Trump’s closest allies and is in charge of a major government cost-cutting program.
Reflecting on his first term, Trump said the tech world didn’t know how to handle a president who came from business, not politics.
“In the first [term], they didn’t know what happened, because I won an election that … there was never a businessman that won a presidential election,” he said. “And when I ran, everyone said, ‘Well, I can’t win. He’s a businessman. That’s not going to work.’”
Trump said his business instincts made the difference: “Was I a better businessman or politician? And they said, ‘Well, there are a lot of guys that made a lot of money, but there’s only guy that became president that was a businessman, so I guess you’re a better politician.’”
Despite their support, Big Tech hasn’t gotten a free pass. Trump’s second term has already brought fresh heat — with new investigations, talk of breaking up tech giants, and threats over censorship claims. Even allies like Musk are navigating an unpredictable White House.
Watch the clip below:
Trump: “If you look at some of these internet people, I know so many of them…They all hated me and my first term and now they are kissing my ass. It's true, all of them. It's true”🤡
pic.twitter.com/E3pdv4Cad2— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) May 2, 2025
