Trump gives back to Big Tech’s ass in Davos

Countries around the world have been eagerly awaiting the return of Donald Trump. This week, as Trump resumed his position in the White House, the new president also appeared at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where his foreign policy goals began to emerge. The first order of business? Declaring (economic) war against Europe, I guess.

In Davos, when asked about his position on the European Union, Trump took the opportunity to exploit America’s allies for having the temerity to punish American tech companies for breaking the law.

“They took court cases with Apple and supposedly won a case that most people didn’t think was a great case,” Trump said. “They earned 15 or 16 billion from Apple. They made billions from Google. I think they’re after Facebook for billions and billions. These are American companies, whether they like them or not. They are American companies and they shouldn’t be doing that. As far as I’m concerned, that’s a form of taxation.”

“We have some very big grievances with the EU,” Trump concluded, as we also doubled down on his plan to impose significant fees In European countries they do refuse to buy American-made products.

Unlike the United States, where the legislative body of the government has largely been co-opted by special interests It is supposed to regulate: Europe has a relatively functional legislature that occasionally demonstrates that the public’s interests. In recent years, the EU has approved a series of reference bills designed to Sensible Regulations Institute on the US technology platforms that dominate the Internet. As such, Trump is right: Europe has been coming at American tech platforms with massive fines for their violations of those established laws. Apple was recently hit with a $2.7 billion fine by EU regulators, while Meta was recently fined some $840 million for antitrust violations. Apple also owes something to Ireland Like $14 billion in post taxes. Several regulatory probes At the tech giants they are ongoing and it is plausible that more fines are on the horizon.

Now, as Trump returns to the White House thanks in part to Silicon Valley money, it stands to reason that big tech platforms facing European regulatory scrutiny would want it to end. As tech CEOs align themselves in Schmooze with the president, this is surely what companies like Apple, Meta and Amazon were hoping for.

That said, the MAGA movement and its various allies have been trying to Attack and remake Europe for about a decade. Right-wing libertarian organizations with ties to Trump have sought to cultivate ties with European leaders, in an effort to inform their policies and push traditionally leftist governments further to the right.

During the first Trump administration, Maga Acolyte Steve Bannon headed to Europe, in an attempt to bring his “populist” style politics to the Old World. To do so, Bannon bought an old Italian monastery and converted it into what he called a “gladiator school” Or, more dramatically, an “academy for the Judeo-Christian West.” The idea was that the monastery would serve as a breeding ground for political parties that could sweep away the established order in Europe and give rise to a new type of right-wing politics. Bannon, who has longed expressed a desire to destroy the EU, He stated that he wanted to fight for the common man, European identity and, naturally, the free market.

Despite the theatrics, Bannon’s efforts have been largely unsuccessful. Some of the political parties that formed as part of Bannon’s “movement” have been dissolved And Bannon’s “Gladiator” monastery hasn’t seen much use, having been tied up due to ongoing lawsuits and legal problems.

In recent months, Elon Musk has tried to step into Bannon’s shoes and tried to use his global propaganda platform, X, to sow his own unique brand of right-wing politics in Europe. However, like Bannon’s efforts, Musk’s propaganda appears to be (mostly) failing. A recent survey found that, in the United Kingdom, where Musk has been relentlessly attacking the nation’s prime minister, The tech billionaire was more unpopular than Megan Markle. Another survey found that Musk’s popularity was quite low in Germanywhere he has been trying to promote a far-right political party associated with neo-Nazis.