President Donald Trump will host tech executives at a Rose Garden event Thursday following a separate gathering on artificial intelligence hosted by First Lady Melania Trump, though Tesla CEO Elon Musk is notably absent from the guest list.
Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks during a meeting with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on Wednesday August 6, 2025. (Photo by Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The Washington Post via Getty Images
Key Takeaways
- Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Apple’s Tim Cook, Microsoft’s Bill Gates, OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, and Google’s Sergey Brin and Sundar Pichai are among those on the guest list, according to multiple reports.
- Trump will host the dinner in the newly renovated Rose Garden, which was paved over recently by the Trump administration, resembling the patio at Mar-a-Lago.
- Musk, who had a falling out with Trump shortly after he departed his White House role leading the Department of Government Efficiency, was not on the guest list.
Crucial Quote
“The Rose Garden Club at the White House is the hottest place to be in Washington, or perhaps the world,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement to The Hill, which was the first to report the event will take place Thursday, adding “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.”
Tangent
The Trump administration completed renovations of the White House Rose garden last month, paving over the iconic lawn. Trump has made numerous aesthetic changes to the White House, adorning the Oval Office with gold-plated decor and announcing plans for a new $200 million ballroom.
Key Background
Trump has embraced tech leaders during his second term and taken steps to remove regulatory barriers to artificial intelligence and accelerate development. Venture capitalist-turned-White House AI czar David Sacks is expected to attend Thursday’s event. The first lady will hold a separate meeting of her White House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence Education before the Rose Garden event. The task force is designed to promote the use of artificial intelligence in schools.
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