Trump’s Meeting With Tech Executives

David Streitfeld, reporting for the NYT:

Even after the press was ushered out, the meeting continued its genial way. Among the topics discussed, according to several corporate executives and a transition official briefed on the meeting, who asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, were vocational education and the need for more of it, the promise and peril of trade with China and immigration (Mr. Trump wants “smart and talented people here”). The president-elect also asked the executives to see if they could not apply data analysis technology to detect and help get rid of government waste.

Vocational education is one of Tim Cook’s issues. He has often stated that vocational training, not wages, is the primary reason nearly all Apple products are assembled in China. Given the attendees at this meeting, I’m not even sure who else would have brought this up. Elon Musk, perhaps.

Some tech companies were also notable for their absence. Twitter, the president-elect’s medium of choice for communication, was not invited.

Twitter declined to comment on why it was not included. A campaign official complained last month in a Medium post that Twitter had killed a #CrookedHillary emoji. On Wednesday, Sean Spicer, a spokesman for Mr. Trump, said that Twitter had been left out of the meeting because of space considerations in a gathering that many other technology executives were “dying to get into.”

I can’t believe the Times didn’t put quotes around that hashtag. And whatever it is they’re talking about, a sticker or whatever, is not an emoji.

The meeting lasted more than 90 minutes, longer than expected. Mr. Trump was seated next to Peter Thiel, the tech investor who is a member of the president-elect’s transition team. In another sign of Mr. Trump mixing family, business and government hats, three of his adult children — Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric — also attended.

So there wasn’t room for Jack Dorsey but there was room for three of his children. I’m not saying Dorsey should’ve gotten a seat, but if you’re not deeply bothered by the fact that Trump is treating the presidency of the United States as a family business, you’re not hooked up right.

★ Thursday, 15 December 2016