Trump Awards Medals to Big Tech Leaders: "Musk is a National Treasure and My Friend"

U.S. President Donald Trump awarded the nation's highest honors in science and technology to leaders of America's big tech companies, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, on the 8th (local time).

President Trump presented the National Medals of Science at the "Science: A New Golden Age Summit" held at the Donald Trump Peace Institute in Washington, D.C.

He awarded the National Medal of Science to Musk, alongside Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, and AMD CEO Lisa Su, while presenting the National Medal of Technology and Innovation to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell.

"We are living in an era of American wonder and technological achievement, and with the help of the brilliant minds gathered here today, we will always remain at the top," President Trump said. "No one can compete with us."

President Trump detailed the careers and achievements of each recipient during the event, with his introduction of CEO Musk being unusually longer than the others.

Having grown close after Musk contributed to President Trump's victory in the 2024 presidential election, the two had experienced a strained relationship last June following a clash over a tax cut bill strongly pushed by President Trump.

However, on this day, President Trump showered Musk with high praise, calling him a "national treasure" and a "modern Thomas Edison," and referred to him as "my friend," demonstrating that their relationship has fully recovered.

"Few Americans in history have done as much to advance U.S. national interests as Elon," President Trump praised, adding, "His genius and determination across numerous fields have turned science fiction into reality."

During the event, the organizers also presented President Trump with a framed National Medal of Science that had been awarded to his late uncle, MIT Professor John G. Trump (1907–1985), by former President Ronald Reagan.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.