US President Donald Trump on Thursday presented the nation's highest honours for science and technology to a group of leading tech executives, including Elon Musk and Satya Nadella, at the White House's "Science: A New Golden Age" summit.
Musk, who leads SpaceX and Tesla, received the National Medal of Science alongside Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and AMD CEO Lisa Su. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the top honour in its category. It was the first time Trump had presented either medal across both of his administrations.
From public feud to White House honour
The ceremony marked another milestone in the renewed relationship between Trump and Musk, who fell out publicly last year after Musk left the Department of Government Efficiency and criticised the president's tax-and-spending legislation. Musk had been the biggest individual donor of the 2024 election cycle, contributing more than $290 million to support Trump and Republican candidates, according to campaign finance analysis.
Trump introduced Musk at the summit as the "modern day Thomas Edison," calling him an industrial titan and a brilliant engineer. The White House said the recipients were being recognised for contributions that were helping America keep its lead in innovation.
A room of loyal donors
Nearly every recipient or their company has contributed to Trump's campaign, his inauguration fund or the White House ballroom project. Brin attended Trump's inauguration and contributed to the Republican National Committee; Huang donated to the ballroom fund and Nvidia contributed $1 million to the inauguration; the Dells pledged $6.25 billion to the "Trump Accounts" programme.
The summit brought together scientists and technology leaders to discuss how emerging technologies, superintelligence and private-sector investment could accelerate scientific breakthroughs. Just a week earlier, Trump had hosted many of the same executives for talks where they pledged to self-regulate against potential risks from artificial intelligence.
Sources: Trump hails Musk as 'modern day Thomas Edison' at science awards — USA Today; Satya Nadella, Elon Musk Among Top Tech CEOs To Receive US Science Medal — NDTV; Trump awarding medals to Musk, Dell, Nadella at science summit — LA Times Now
Musk, who leads SpaceX and Tesla, received the National Medal of Science alongside Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and AMD CEO Lisa Su. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the top honour in its category. It was the first time Trump had presented either medal across both of his administrations.
From public feud to White House honour
The ceremony marked another milestone in the renewed relationship between Trump and Musk, who fell out publicly last year after Musk left the Department of Government Efficiency and criticised the president's tax-and-spending legislation. Musk had been the biggest individual donor of the 2024 election cycle, contributing more than $290 million to support Trump and Republican candidates, according to campaign finance analysis.
Trump introduced Musk at the summit as the "modern day Thomas Edison," calling him an industrial titan and a brilliant engineer. The White House said the recipients were being recognised for contributions that were helping America keep its lead in innovation.
A room of loyal donors
Nearly every recipient or their company has contributed to Trump's campaign, his inauguration fund or the White House ballroom project. Brin attended Trump's inauguration and contributed to the Republican National Committee; Huang donated to the ballroom fund and Nvidia contributed $1 million to the inauguration; the Dells pledged $6.25 billion to the "Trump Accounts" programme.
The summit brought together scientists and technology leaders to discuss how emerging technologies, superintelligence and private-sector investment could accelerate scientific breakthroughs. Just a week earlier, Trump had hosted many of the same executives for talks where they pledged to self-regulate against potential risks from artificial intelligence.
Sources: Trump hails Musk as 'modern day Thomas Edison' at science awards — USA Today; Satya Nadella, Elon Musk Among Top Tech CEOs To Receive US Science Medal — NDTV; Trump awarding medals to Musk, Dell, Nadella at science summit — LA Times Now
