Trump gives top US science awards to Elon Musk and other tech executives

What the report says

US President Donald Trump has awarded National Medals of Science and Technology and Innovation to a group of prominent technology executives, according to Al Jazeera. The honourees included Elon Musk of SpaceX and Tesla, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Nvidia chief Jensen Huang, AMD chief Lisa Su, Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. The ceremony took place at the White House on Thursday, with Trump praising the recipients for helping drive what he described as America’s future in science, engineering and artificial intelligence.

Al Jazeera reported that five of the six recipients were born outside the United States, and that several are among the world’s wealthiest people. The article also noted the awards came only hours after the Trump administration announced it was suspending Microsoft and other major technology companies from using the H-1B visa programme, saying the firms had allegedly used it fraudulently. That timing highlighted the administration’s mixed approach toward the tech sector, combining public praise with tougher action on immigration and workplace hiring.

The story placed the event in the broader context of Trump’s closer ties with Silicon Valley during his second term. Al Jazeera said some major tech companies and executives have backed Trump politically or financially, while the White House has sought to reduce regulation and promote US leadership in AI. The National Medal of Science has been awarded since 1963, while the National Medal of Technology and Innovation is among the country’s top honours for engineering and industry.