Trump called Google’s CEO because he couldn’t find any good stories about himself

In an interview with Bloomberg News, former President Donald Trump said he recently contacted Google CEO Sundar Pichai to complain about search results for his name, saying the tech company suppressed positive stories about him.

Trump told Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait at an event hosted by the Economic Club of Chicago on Oct. 15 that he recently called “the head of Google” to express his frustration with search results. .

“I’ve been getting a lot of good stories lately, but you can’t find them on Google,” Trump told Pichai. “I think it’s a whole rigged deal. I think Google is rigged, just like our government is rigged.”

“They only have bad stories. In other words, if I have 20 good stories and 20 bad stories, and everyone is entitled to that, then you only see the 20 bad stories,” he told Micklethwait.

The former president’s comments shed light on his ongoing contentious relationship with major tech companies and his perception of how they handle information relating to him. Trump has long accused tech giants of bias against him and conservative views, a claim that has resonated with his base but has been repeatedly denied by the companies.

In August, Trump said Google would “pay a heavy price” after allegations surfaced that the tech giant allowed the Harris-Walz campaign to use altered headlines from various publications in paid Google ads. In 2017, before he was banned from Twitter (now X), Trump suggested there was “collusion” between Facebook and the mainstream media, tweeting, “Facebook was always anti-Trump.”

Trump’s criticism of Google went beyond personal grievances. When Micklethwait asked about the possibility of breaking up Alphabet, Google’s parent company, Trump said: “Google has a lot of power. They’re very bad for me – very, very bad for me.” However, he did not explicitly call for the company to be broken up, saying instead: “I would do something.”

Newsweek contacted Google and Trump via email for comment.

The former president’s comments come at a time when major tech companies are facing increasing criticism from both sides of the political aisle. The Justice Department and several attorneys general have pending antitrust cases against Google, focusing on Google’s dominance of the search and digital advertising markets.

Despite his criticism, Trump acknowledged Google’s success, saying, “I give them a lot of credit. They’ve become such a power. They’re such a power. You have to give them credit for that.” He also expressed concerns about maintaining American technological dominance, especially in relation to China.

“Right now, China is afraid of Google,” he added.

Trump’s stance on another tech platform, TikTok, appears to have softened since leaving office. When asked about his current position on the Chinese app, which he had previously threatened to ban, Trump seemed more ambivalent.

He said regarding the action against TikTok that he initially “had everything in place,” but ultimately left the decision up to Congress. Trump acknowledged the “real First Amendment issues” associated with banning the app, suggesting a more nuanced view of the complexities involved in regulating foreign-owned technology platforms.

The conversation then turned to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who Trump hinted could play a role in his plans for the tech sector if he became president. When Trump was asked about rumors that he might put Musk in charge of overseeing deregulation efforts in the tech sector, he said: “Not deregulation, but cuts.” He added: “Austerity, which would mean deregulation.”