Donald Trump Is Proving Disastrous for Big Tech

Silicon Valley's stars are beset by trust-busters and the trade war.

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In the weeks after the re-election of Mr. Donald Trump, the bosses of America's tech giants worked hard to ingratiate themselves with the returning President, congratulating him publicly and dutifully turning up for his inauguration. Mr. Mark Zuckerberg, the boss of Meta, gushed that it was nice to have an administration that was "proud" of America's tech champions.

There was good reason for the obsequiousness. During the campaign, Mr. Trump referred to Meta as an "enemy of the people." Many in his Maga movement have accused America's tech giants of censoring right-wing views. In 2021, Mr. J.D. Vance, now Mr. Trump's Vice-President, called the behemoths "parasitic." Even the techies surrounding Mr. Trump, such as Mr. Elon Musk, belong to a different Silicon Valley tribe that is suspicious of big tech.

Three months in, and the bosses of America's most valuable firms have little to show for all their toadying. Mr. Trump appears unwilling to spare them from the trust-buster's snare, and is adding to their troubles with his trade war. On April 29, the White House accused Amazon of a "hostile and political act" after the company was reported to be planning to display the cost of tariffs for items sold through its website. (Amazon swiftly clarified that the idea had been considered only for Amazon Haul, where it sells ultra-cheap products, and that it would not be implemented.)

Since Mr. Trump's inauguration, the combined market value of the five big platforms - Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft - plus Nvidia, America's semiconductor superstar, has fallen by US$2.3 trillion (S$3 trillion), or 16 per cent. Just how bad could things get?