Tech leaders look to reconcile with Trump ahead of presidential election

The relationship between Donald Trump and tech giants cooled after the 2020 presidential election. The deletion of Hunter Biden's story was followed by his suspension from Twitter and Facebook, prompting him to found his own social network, Truth Social. Four years later, just days before the election, the heads of Amazon, Google and Apple are closing in on the Republican candidate.

Specifically, Trump revealed recent conversations with Tim Cook of Apple, Sundar Pichai of Google and Andy Jassy of Amazon.

For example, the Republican revealed at a campaign event that Pichai called him after his workday at McDonald's. "I actually got a call from Sundar. Sundar, who's great, from Google, he's a great guy, very smart. The head of Google. And he said, 'Sir, I just want to tell you that what you did with McDonald's was one of the biggest events we've ever had at Google,'" he said.

Trump also made public a conversation he had with Apple CEO Cook, whom he strongly praised on the PBD Podcast. According to the former president, Cook called him personally after the judicial arm of the European Union ruled that the tech company owed some $15 billion in back taxes.

"I think if Tim Cook didn't run Apple, if Steve Jobs did, it wouldn't be half as successful as it is now. I think Tim Cook has done an incredible job. And I'm not criticizing Steve Jobs," he added.

CNN revealed the talk with Amazon CEO Jassy. The media recently confirmed a call between Trump and Jassy without giving many details.

Trump also personally met with the directors of the aerospace company Blue Origin, which is owned by Jeff Bezos.

Owen Tedford, senior research analyst at Beacon Policy Advisors, sought to explain tech companies' outreach to the Republican candidate. "I think, in a way, what they're looking to do is to have the bases covered. If Trump wins the election, they will want to have some kind of relationship," he expressed in dialogue with The Hill.

For Daniel Alpert, managing partner of investment firm Westwood Capital, the tech world's approach to Trump is an "anticipated fulfillment."

"People in the business world, not to mention people in academia, media and elsewhere, inevitably start to consider what their best interest is and anticipate what the reaction is going to be and get in line," he added.