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All the tech ceos are on the trump train this time around, it was a specific strategy of the trump campaign. Using words like “caved” as though they were pressu

All the tech ceos are on the trump train this time around, it was a specific strategy of the trump campaign. Using words like “caved” as though they were pressured and not already aligned with the government is a disservice.

michaelt 8mo ago
I interpret ‘caved’ in this context to mean they’re not gaining much in return - they make a loss by doing this, just they make an even bigger loss if they were targets of a Trump tantrum.
- tehjoker 8mo ago
  That’s fair, I don’t think the CEOs are fully aligned culturally with Trump but they are sick of pretending to be liberals that care about other people and they want to make more money.
  - api 8mo ago
    Depends on who you mean. Some of them are nodding and smiling while they count the days until Trump dies. Some of them are “pilled” and totally on board.
    - embedding-shape 8mo ago
      And ultimately the consequences of both group is the same. The only way to get rid of fascism is to fight against it, there is no "neutral" position possible unfortunately.
      - api 8mo ago
        I agree. I’m just saying that public companies have less power against the state than you think they do.
        embedding-shape 8mo ago
        We're not talking about public companies being "fully aligned culturally" or not though, we're talking about individuals who have as much choice as everyone else, if not more, to align themselves or not.
  - deleted 8mo ago
    [deleted]
  - latexr 8mo ago
    > I don’t think the CEOs are fully aligned culturally with Trump Does it matter? If all their actions are in support of a regime, does it matter if they secretly don’t agree with it and don’t even say it? Does it matter that your neighbour says they don’t agree with ICE of they still rat you out to them? Ideologies without action aren’t worth much. At this point, we should assume these CEOs are fully on board with and support Trump’s policies. There’s no reason to make up excuses that they might not be when they repeatedly demonstrate the opposite.
    - malfist 8mo ago
      In the Nuremberg trails I doubt "but I secretly didn't believe we should kill all the Jews" would have passed muster.
- soco 8mo ago
  Judging by the financial reports they don't make any loss doing this, quite the opposite. Let's not weep where no weeping is due.
yoyohello13 8mo ago
They know what they are doing. To survive as a large entity during this administration you have to kiss the ring. If you don't, you'll get targeted for being 'woke' or whatever. In fact, kissing Trump's ass is more important for success than actually making a good product at this point. I definitely don't think what these CEOs are doing is moral, but it's certainly rational.
- scblock 8mo ago
  This is unacceptable behavior, and terrible that anyone would think this way. You're telling me that if Tim Cook wasn't getting on his knees every couple of weeks Apple would end? That's farcical.
  - michaelt 8mo ago
    > You're telling me that if Tim Cook wasn't getting on his knees every couple of weeks Apple would end? That's farcical. I think that a 30%, 64% or 145% tax on Chinese imports would be a huge blow for a $400 billion business importing Chinese-made phones. And Trump can impose such taxes (and grant exemptions from them) at will, apparently.
  - yoyohello13 8mo ago
    Is it? You think if Tim Cook took a stand and said no to Trump there wouldn’t all of a sudden be a rush of new tarriffs/lawsuits? I’m not so sure.
  - anon7000 8mo ago
    You should watch this video: https://youtu.be/RPzcGeiNYvk https://youtu.be/RPzcGeiNYvk And it IS farcical! I mean, look at the FIFA “peace prize.” They literally invented it to give to Trump because he was threatening US World Cup matches. What’s farcical is that this behavior actually apparently works on the president.
    - plagiarist 8mo ago
      Well, he is a demented nitwit with a giant ego who loves ostentatiously tacky gold-plated objects. You wouldn't be surprised if a crow traded you something for a bottlecap. The crow is smarter.
davidw 8mo ago
May shame and disgrace follow them for the rest of their lives. Having been around for a while, to go from optimistic, but sort of naive techno-libertarianism that was once a thing in Silicon Valley to kissing up to a would-be authoritarian is a very sad arc.
laluser 8mo ago
I think that moment happened when Trump said, "drop to your knees and beg, and he would have done it,” to Elon. [1]. Once Trump assumed the presidency, it was game over for tech. [1] https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-elon-musk-twitter-feud-b2121828.html https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-polit...

michaelt 8mo ago

I interpret ‘caved’ in this context to mean they’re not gaining much in return - they make a loss by doing this, just they make an even bigger loss if they were targets of a Trump tantrum.

tehjoker 8mo ago
That’s fair, I don’t think the CEOs are fully aligned culturally with Trump but they are sick of pretending to be liberals that care about other people and they want to make more money.
- api 8mo ago
  Depends on who you mean. Some of them are nodding and smiling while they count the days until Trump dies. Some of them are “pilled” and totally on board.
  - embedding-shape 8mo ago
    And ultimately the consequences of both group is the same. The only way to get rid of fascism is to fight against it, there is no "neutral" position possible unfortunately.
    - api 8mo ago
      I agree. I’m just saying that public companies have less power against the state than you think they do.
      - embedding-shape 8mo ago
        We're not talking about public companies being "fully aligned culturally" or not though, we're talking about individuals who have as much choice as everyone else, if not more, to align themselves or not.
- deleted 8mo ago
  [deleted]
- latexr 8mo ago
  > I don’t think the CEOs are fully aligned culturally with Trump Does it matter? If all their actions are in support of a regime, does it matter if they secretly don’t agree with it and don’t even say it? Does it matter that your neighbour says they don’t agree with ICE of they still rat you out to them? Ideologies without action aren’t worth much. At this point, we should assume these CEOs are fully on board with and support Trump’s policies. There’s no reason to make up excuses that they might not be when they repeatedly demonstrate the opposite.
  - malfist 8mo ago
    In the Nuremberg trails I doubt "but I secretly didn't believe we should kill all the Jews" would have passed muster.
soco 8mo ago
Judging by the financial reports they don't make any loss doing this, quite the opposite. Let's not weep where no weeping is due.

yoyohello13 8mo ago

They know what they are doing. To survive as a large entity during this administration you have to kiss the ring. If you don't, you'll get targeted for being 'woke' or whatever. In fact, kissing Trump's ass is more important for success than actually making a good product at this point. I definitely don't think what these CEOs are doing is moral, but it's certainly rational.

scblock 8mo ago
This is unacceptable behavior, and terrible that anyone would think this way. You're telling me that if Tim Cook wasn't getting on his knees every couple of weeks Apple would end? That's farcical.
- michaelt 8mo ago
  > You're telling me that if Tim Cook wasn't getting on his knees every couple of weeks Apple would end? That's farcical. I think that a 30%, 64% or 145% tax on Chinese imports would be a huge blow for a $400 billion business importing Chinese-made phones. And Trump can impose such taxes (and grant exemptions from them) at will, apparently.
- yoyohello13 8mo ago
  Is it? You think if Tim Cook took a stand and said no to Trump there wouldn’t all of a sudden be a rush of new tarriffs/lawsuits? I’m not so sure.
- anon7000 8mo ago
  You should watch this video: https://youtu.be/RPzcGeiNYvk https://youtu.be/RPzcGeiNYvk And it IS farcical! I mean, look at the FIFA “peace prize.” They literally invented it to give to Trump because he was threatening US World Cup matches. What’s farcical is that this behavior actually apparently works on the president.
  - plagiarist 8mo ago
    Well, he is a demented nitwit with a giant ego who loves ostentatiously tacky gold-plated objects. You wouldn't be surprised if a crow traded you something for a bottlecap. The crow is smarter.

davidw 8mo ago

May shame and disgrace follow them for the rest of their lives. Having been around for a while, to go from optimistic, but sort of naive techno-libertarianism that was once a thing in Silicon Valley to kissing up to a would-be authoritarian is a very sad arc.

laluser 8mo ago

I think that moment happened when Trump said, "drop to your knees and beg, and he would have done it,” to Elon. [1]. Once Trump assumed the presidency, it was game over for tech. [1] https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-elon-musk-twitter-feud-b2121828.html https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-polit...