Trump to host top tech and business leaders at Rose Garden dinner

U.S. President Donald Trump, White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., 3 September, 2025.
Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump will host more than two dozen technology and business leaders on Thursday for a dinner in the newly renovated White House Rose Garden, a White House official said.

The guest list includes Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, according to the official.

The dinner highlights Trump’s evolving relationship with Silicon Valley. Once marked by clashes over content moderation and antitrust scrutiny, ties have shifted since his 2024 election victory, with executives now seeking closer engagement with the administration.

Corporate leaders have aligned with Trump’s push to roll back diversity and equity initiatives, while also courting the White House on artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.

“The president looks forward to welcoming top business, political and tech leaders for this dinner and the many dinners to come on the new, beautiful Rose Garden patio,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said.

Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk, who split publicly with Trump earlier this year after serving as an adviser, is not on the guest list. On Thursday, Musk wrote on his platform X that he “was invited, but unfortunately could not attend. A representative of mine will be there.”

The Rose Garden renovation, completed in August, replaced the traditional grass lawn with a stone patio and umbrella-covered tables inspired by Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

Reuters

This garden, which borders the Oval Office and the West Wing of the White House, is about 125 feet long and 60 feet wide. Opposite the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden on the east side of the complex and overlooking the South Lawn, it has long served as a setting for receptions and media events.

The dinner will follow a White House event on artificial intelligence hosted by First Lady Melania Trump.

Other executives expected to attend include Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Oracle CEO Safra Catz, Blue Origin CEO David Limp, Micron Technology CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, OpenAI President Greg Brockman, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar, Meta’s chief AI officer Alexandr Wang, and AMD CEO Lisa Su.

The Hill first reported details of the event.

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