Tech CEOs, GOP Leaders Hold 'Secret Meeting' to Stop Trump
It is one of those weekends when the private island off the beautiful Georgia coast has become a temporary respite for "leading thinkers" from different backgrounds, particularly tech and U.S. politics, as they take time off from their usual schedules.
The Closed-Door Gathering
However, the tech CEOs and the top brass of the GOP establishment weren't there for a holiday. They met for the annual World Forum hosted by the American Enterprise Institute. The ultra-exclusive and very secretive gathering has one primary agenda this time around -- to stop Donald Trump .
"A specter was haunting the World Forum -- the specter of Donald Trump," said Bill Kristol, editor for The Weekly Standard who was also part of the event. "There was much unhappiness about his emergence, a good deal of talk, some of it insightful and thoughtful, about why he's done so well, and many expressions of hope that he would be defeated."
Luminaries in Attendance
The men who were around for the meeting have amassed so much wealth, not to mention the prodigious power these influential men hold. The lot has an aggregate net worth value amounting to something that's made up of 11 digits, thanks largely to Google co-founder Larry Page, Napster co-founder and former Facebook president Sean Parker and Tesla Motors and SpaceX boss Elon Musk.
Apple CEO Tim Cook was also a part of the weekend gathering. The tech people were also joined by U.S. politics notables with the likes of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Paul Ryan, who led a number of GOP representatives from the House.
The politicians were also accompanied by GOP backer and billionaire Philip Anschutz, who happen to be one of the owners of the Sea Island venue; Arthur Sulzberger, The New York Times publisher; Democratic Rep. John Delaney; and political guru Karl Rove.
The Agenda
Trump has been the frontrunner on the GOP side, and a win from both Florida and Ohio in the next few days could potentially secure the nomination for him. The meeting was primarily about preventing this from happening.
However, the meeting wasn't exactly on point in terms of its agenda. Kristol said, "There's a little too much hand-wringing, brow-furrowing, and fatalism out there and not quite enough resolving to save the party from nominating or the country electing someone who simply shouldn't be president."
According to sources familiar with the meeting, the talks veered away from the topic on how to stop Trump and focused on how he came to be what he is now.
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