Donald Trump Talks as Tech Billionaires Struggle to Keep Straight Faces
Donald Trump Talks as Tech Billionaires Struggle to Keep Straight Faces
Devanshi BasuThu, October 8, 2026 at 6:51 AM UTC
0
Photo Credit: Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images
Two prominent business leaders spent much of a Wednesday Oval Office event avoiding eye contact with the president. Donald Trump used the briefing, held to promote his Trump Accounts, to praise his economic record while tech billionaire Michael Dell and investor Brad Gerstner stood behind him.
Michael Dell and Brad Gerstner repeatedly looked away during Donald Trump’s Oval Office briefing
Trump spoke from the Resolute Desk about tariffs and said he was creating “the greatest economy.” He also said factories were going up “all over the country.” Dell and Gerstner shifted visibly as he went on. Both men glanced at the ceiling, dropped their gaze to the floor or scanned the room of reporters. Gerstner kept his hands clasped in front of him, and Dell’s mouth and brow looked strained.
The clearest moment came when Trump turned to face the two men. “There’s never been a time like this, ever, where $21 trillion—that’s even a lot of money for Brad and Michael and Susan,” he said. Dell, whom Forbes puts at $282 billion in net worth, and Gerstner, a multi-millionaire, responded with brief, pinched smiles and nods. Both then looked away again.
Advertisement
Furthermore, the pair stayed silent when Trump said: “I can do whatever I want, if I want.” He added that the presidency would let him pursue political rivals, naming Hillary Clinton and “Barack Hussein Obama.” The president later said his administration had delivered “the greatest growth of any country, maybe ever in history.” He described plans for the “biggest” semiconductor plants in the country and a shift away from trade with places such as Taiwan. Dell and Gerstner again kept their eyes down or on the room.
Dell leads Dell Technologies, while Gerstner is the founder and CEO of Altimeter Capital. Dell said Wednesday that he and his wife, Susan, had already funded 10 million Trump Accounts through their $6.25 billion pledge. He said the donation would provide $250 to 25 million accounts by the end of the week.
The post Donald Trump Talks as Tech Billionaires Struggle to Keep Straight Faces appeared first on Reality Tea.
Source: “AOL Money”
