President Trump to host Apple CEO Tim Cook, other tech CEOs for first event in newly renovated Rose Garden

The newly renovated White House Rose Garden in mid-August 2025 (photo: Doug Mills, via Reuters)
U.S. President Donald Trump will host a dinner to be attended by Apple CEO Tim Cook and over two dozen technology and business leaders in the newly renovated White House Rose Garden on Thursday, a White House official said. The guests include Apple CEO Tim Cook, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, according to the official. The Rose Garden renovation was completed in August.
The Rose Garden’s upgrades are part of President Trump’s broader White House renovation plans, which include adding a grand ballroom. In a May interview with NBC News, he stated he is personally funding the project, including the installation of two 100-foot flagpoles on the North and South Lawns. Earlier this month, Trump confirmed the ballroom plans, with a press release noting the space will cover approximately 90,000 square feet.
Jarrett Renshaw for Reuters:
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Executives have sought closer ties with the Republican administration, aligning corporate policies with the White House’s push to roll back diversity and equity initiatives while courting Trump’s favor on artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.
“The president looks forward to welcoming top business, political and tech leaders for this dinner and the many dinners to come on the new, beautiful Rose Garden patio,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said.
The gathering there is set to take place after CEOs and tech leaders attend a White House event on AI hosted by first lady Melania Trump.
Other executives on the guest list include Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Oracle CEO Safra Catz, Blue Origin CEO David Limp, Micron Technology CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, and OpenAI President Greg Brockman, the White House official said.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar and Meta’s chief AI officer, Alexandr Wang, are also expected.

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MacDailyNews Note: On August 30th, via Truth Social, President Trump commented on the Rose Garden following a construction mishap:
I used, at the White House, the most beautiful marble and stone available anywhere. Surfaces are very important to me as a Builder. As everyone knows, I built many GREAT Buildings, and other things, over the years. At the White House, I am very proud of the beautiful stonework we did in the Rose Garden, in this case, using limestone plus. The Rose Garden is completed, and far more beautiful than anyone ever had in mind when it was conceived of, decades ago. Three days ago, while admiring the stonework, I happened to notice a huge gash in the limestone that extended more than 25 yards long. It was deep and nasty! I started yelling, “Who did this, and I want to find out now!” — And I didn’t say this in a nice manner. I wondered, “Was it vandalism or, was it stupidity?” Lo and behold, because of the fact that we’ve installed the finest security equipment anywhere, they brought back the stupid people, with their boss watching (in sunglasses!). It was a subcontractor that was installing heavy landscaping on a steel cart that was broken and tilting badly, with it rubbing hard against the soft, beautiful stone. I love and respect great workers and contractors, but something like this should never happen. Now, I’ll replace the stone, charge the contractor, and never let that contractor work at the White House again — But, how great is the video equipment? We caught them, cold. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

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