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Where is Elon Musk?”: Bill Gates trends online as internet outraged over billionaire sitting next to Trump at White House tech dinner

Bill Gates faced backlash for sitting beside Trump at a White House tech dinner as many online asked, “Where is Elon Musk?” amid Trump’s feud with the Tesla CEO
posted by Ashray BS
Friday 9/5/2025 at 3:42AM EDT
  • Microsoft Co-Founder Bill Gates speaks during a dinner at the State Dining Room of the White House on September 4, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump (L) hosted tech and business leaders for dinner after they joined the first lady Melania Trump’s. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
    Microsoft Co-Founder Bill Gates speaks during a dinner at the State Dining Room of the White House on September 4, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump (L) hosted tech and business leaders for dinner after they joined the first lady Melania Trump’s. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

    Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has become the target of online criticism after being photographed next to President Donald Trump at a White House technology dinner this week.

    The photographs went viral on social media, with users asking, "Where is Elon Musk?" and by chastising Gates for sharing a table with Trump while Trump continues to feud with the Tesla CEO.

    The dinner, which was held as part of the Trump administration's ongoing effort to engage technology leaders, consisted of an impressive attendee list of technology luminaries.

    The most discussed element, however, was the image of Gates sitting near Trump. Detractors brought back Gates' past comments about the president, including a comment he made in 2018 where he accused Trump of confusing HIV with HPV in their conversations, and making inappropriate comments about Gates' daughter's attractiveness.

    "Anyway, so when I first talked to him, it was actually kind of scary how much he knew about my daughter’s appearance. Melinda (Gates’ wife) didn’t like that too well," Gates said in a 2018 statement according to BBC.

    People online accused Gates of being hypocritical based on the philanthropy work he does in global health and vaccines, the same areas Trump has often questioned.

    The Elon Musk factor and a complicated history

    Amidst the backlash against Bill Gates, most of the social media real estate focused not on Gates but Musk's absence. Just days prior, Trump had ragged on Musk, calling him "80% genius, 20% problems" insisting he has no choice but to return to the Republican Party.

    "He’s a good man. He got off the reservation, incorrectly, and that’s okay, because, you know, it’s just one of those things... He is 80% super genius, and then 20% he’s got some problems. And when he works out the 20% he’ll be great, but he’s got some difficulty," Donald Trump said on the Scott Jennings Show.

    A rift has been on display since early this year as a result of disagreements over tax legislation which eliminated credits for electric vehicles, which led to Musk threatening to start a third political party.

    Gates' decision to attend the dinner with Trump while Musk was absent created several memes and speculation. There were some who defended Gates by pointing out that interacting and networking with political leaders was not entirely unusual in working towards policy objectives.

    Meanwhile, there were others who viewed the dinner as a grave betrayal of his formerly critical position. For the time being, neither Gates nor Musk have had anything to say about the dinner.

    TOPICS: Human Interest, Tesla, Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Republican Party


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