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Following the tumultuous ups and downs in the alliance between Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the ex-leader of the DOGE movement finds himself relegated to the background. Meanwhile, his rival, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, seems poised to potentially take over his former role.
Altman and Musk had one of the most publicly brutal fallouts in the tech world when they went from partners to foes in 2018.
Donald Trump and Musk initially collaborated in 2015 to establish OpenAI as a non-profit organization with the intent to maintain ethical considerations as artificial intelligence evolved.
However, with rival AI developments from tech giants like Google and Amazon, OpenAI transitioned into a public benefit corporation. This shift was criticized by Musk, as it diverged from their original nonprofit mission.
The Tesla CEO left the company in 2018, and a bitter feud ensued between the two as Musk founded his own AI firm, xAI.
He then became one of the most powerful men in government after he assumed the position as head of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.
The alliance with the president left Altman on the sidelines while his billionaire cohorts, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Musk, seemed to only grow closer to Trump.
But Musk has fallen out spectacularly with Trump over the president’s Big Beautiful Bill, which Musk says is wasteful. Musk’s claims that Trump was in the Jeffrey Epstein files saw him cast further into Siberia. Trump has been engulfed by the Epstein scandal over claims he drew the tycoon a ‘bawdy’ birthday picture of a naked woman.
And from that chaos, Altman has been able to emerge as Trump’s new favorite tech tycoon, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
Sam Altman (right) has seemingly shifted his politics as insiders revealed to the Wall Street Journal that the billionaire is gunning for a stronger connection to Trump
Altman was previously relegated to the sidelines due to Musk’s proximity to Trump
Musk and Altman fell out in 2018 after the two founded OpenAI together. Since then, they have frequently blasted each other publicly (Pictured: Musk and Altman at a panel in California in 2015)
As Musk has been sidelined by the president amid a shockingly public feud, Altman has seemingly assumed the position as the expert on AI in closest proximity to the president.
His firm OpenAI – which owns ChatGPT – is seen as having one of the brightest futures in the burgeoning AI industry, with Altman’s $1.8 billion fortune likely to soar a as a result.
Altman’s White House appearance
The relationship presents an opportunity for Altman to have a larger presence in governmental regulation of AI.
The day after Trump was inaugurated, Altman joined Masayoshi Son, the chairman of SoftBank and Oracle founder Larry Ellison to announce a massive joint $500 billion AI project called Stargate.
The initiative will build AI infrastructure across the country, focusing on building data centers and training new models.
Sources familiar with the project told the New York Times that Stargate was in the works for months but was timed to follow Trump’s inauguration so that the president could take credit.
Altman thanked Trump during the announcement, adding, ‘We wouldn’t be able to do this without you, Mr. President.’
Musk attacked the deal on X, claiming that SoftBank didn’t have the funds for the massive infrastructure project and claimed it was fake.
Altman hit back that Musk was wrong and slammed the DOGE chief, ‘I realize what is great for the country isn’t always what’s optimal for your companies, but in your new role I hope you’ll mostly put [America] first.’
When asked about the exchange at the time, Trump told reporters, ‘The government’s not putting up anything. They’re very rich people. Elon doesn’t like one of those people.’
‘People in the deal are very, very smart people, but Elon—one of the people he happens to hate. But I have certain hatreds of people, too,’ he added.
In June, Trump introduced Altman at his New Jersey golf club, calling the tech mogul a ‘brilliant man,’ adding, ‘I hope he’s right about AI.’
Altman thanked the president during a press conference in January announcing the Stargate project
Altman (far right) appeared alongside Masayoshi Son, the chairman of SoftBank (middle) and Oracle founder Larry Ellison (speaking at the podium) to announce a massive $500 billion AI project called Stargate
Breaking ties with Dems
The newfound friendship was somewhat surprising considering Altman’s longtime allegiance to the Democratic Party.
He endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016 and previously compared Trump to Adolf Hitler. Altman also donated to Biden’s re-election campaign in 2023.
But as the tech industry began to shift towards the right, Altman eventually followed suit and backpedaled on his criticisms of Trump.
When Musk reposted old tweets from Altman criticizing the president, the OpenAI exec brushed them off, explaining that his views had changed.
‘Watching @potus more carefully recently has really changed my perspective on him (i wish i had done more of my own thinking and definitely fell in the npc [non-player character] trap),’ Altman wrote.
‘I’m not going to agree with him on everything, but i think he will be incredible for the country in many ways!’
This past Independence Day, Altman solidified his departure from the Democratic party, accusing them of ‘losing the plot.’
He clarified that he wasn’t a Republican and identified his partisanship as ‘politically homeless.’
Altman has also distanced himself from the Democratic party, declaring himself ‘politically homeless’ on July 4
Musk has been critical of the Stargate project and slammed the president for overspending in his ‘Big Beautiful Bill’
Cozying up to Trump
Altman’s previous political affiliation and feud with Musk initially put him at a distance from the president.
He was relegated to the overflow room at Trump’s inauguration, sitting far away from Zuckerberg, Bezos, and Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai.
Musk and Zuckerberg also met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago after he was re-elected, but Altman could only score a meeting with Commerce Secretary nominee Howard Lutnick, the New York Times reported in February.
Sources told the Wall Street Journal that the meeting was tense and Lutnick yelled at Altman for ‘being a leftist.’
Sources told the Journal that OpenAI then hired lobbyist Jeff Miller and Trump campaign advisor Chris LaCivita, who helped integrate Altman into MAGA world.
Altman and other OpenAI executives also met with Trump last year at a hotel in Las Vegas to reveal Sora, artificial intelligence for video generation, sources told the Journal.
After Stargate was announced, Altman’s influence seemed solidified, and in May, the project launched a data center in Abu Dhabi.
On June 16, OpenAI announced a contract deal with the Pentagon, potentially signaling Altman’s dominance in the industry.
As Altman inched closer to the White House, Musk stepped down from his position at DOGE, launching a string of attacks online against Trump, claiming he was on the ‘Epstein list’ and slamming the president’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill.’
