America's tech titans backed President Trump's promise of a new "Golden Age" with seven-figure checks, glowing public praise and front-row tickets to his inauguration, Axios' Zachary Basu and Ashley Gold write.

• So far, those favors remain unreciprocated.

Why it matters: Big Tech has been in MAGA's crosshairs for years. Even as Trump revels in the industry's dramatic realignment and personal overtures, the core tensions in the relationship are far from resolved.

• The famously transactional president knows exactly how much leverage he has over "these internet people," as he referred to them last week.
• "You know, they all hated me in my first term," Trump mused during his commencement speech at the University of Alabama. "And now they're kissing my ass. All of them."

💡 State of play: Most major corporations have suffered from Trump's hurricane of tariff announcements and the ensuing economic uncertainty. But for Big Tech, that's just the tip of the iceberg.

1. Meta, whose CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote the playbook on making up with Trumpworld in the weeks after the election, is nearly a month into an FTC antitrust trial over its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp.

• Zuckerberg's MAGA pivot and personal lobbying have failed to convince Trump or his FTC chair to drop the case, which could force Meta to break up its social media empire.

2. Google, which donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration, is facing two landmark antitrust cases from the Justice Department — one targeting its search dominance, the other its advertising business.

• A federal judge ruled last month that Google has maintained an illegal monopoly on online advertising, and DOJ attorneys feel confident that Google could be forced to sell off Chrome in the separate search case.

3. Apple, which in February announced a $500 million investment in the U.S. over the next four years, struck gold by persuading Trump to exempt phones, computers and chips from his China tariffs.

• But the relief may be short-lived: CEO Tim Cook warned the remaining tariffs still could cost Apple $900 million this quarter alone, even as the company diversifies its supply chain.

4. Amazon, which paid $40 million for a Melania Trump documentary, was accused by the White House of a "hostile and political act" last week after a report that it planned to display how tariffs were increasing product prices.

• Trump immediately called Amazon founder Jeff Bezos — and then publicly praised him for "[solving] the problem very quickly" after the company issued a statement denying the report.

Between the lines: Elon Musk belongs in his own category — not just because the billionaire has become one of Trump's most powerful advisers, but because his companies have suffered enormous brand damage.

👀 The intrigue: Out of the major tech companies represented at the inauguration, the biggest winner may be a foreign one: TikTok.

• Trump has declined to enforce a law requiring TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app or face a U.S. ban.

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Two grandsons of Walmart founder Sam Walton plan to launch a private university focused on science and tech, located on the company's old HQ campus in Bentonville, Ark., Axios' Worth Sparkman and Mike Allen report.

• Why it matters: The future university plans to offer innovative, flexible pathways to jobs in automation, logistics, biotech and computing. Building talent in STEM (science, tech, engineering, and math) is a priority for the U.S., China and other countries racing to compete in the global economy.

Steuart and Tom Walton, grandsons of Sam Walton, are set to announce the school today at the Heartland Summit in Bentonville, a gathering of policymakers, entrepreneurs and investors focused on economic development in the middle of the U.S.

• Plans call for the yet-to-be-named STEM-focused higher education institution to be a model of modern, flexible learning, based on the site of the "home office" where the world's largest retailer was built from Sam Walton's five-and-dime.
• Walmart's original "home office" campus is being vacated in phases as nearly 15,000 employees populate a new flagship 350-acre campus across town.

The inaugural undergraduate class, in coming years, is expected to be roughly 500 students, "growing to about 1,500 undergraduates and 500 non-degree learners over time."

• "The school will offer stackable, flexible credentials aligned with fast-moving, in-demand fields such as computing, technical management, automation and logistics, and biomedical technology," the announcement says.

Steuart Walton, a member of Walmart's board, told Axios in an interview with Axios that higher education "should move at the speed of innovation. This institution will stay agile and grounded, built to meet the world as it changes."

• Tom Walton said in the interview: "Our grandad, Sam Walton, built Walmart from Bentonville. There's no reason the next great enterprise can't rise from here, too."

🛒 The big picture: The university is the latest in a string of philanthropic work by the Waltons that continues transforming Bentonville, a town of about 60,000 people — and the larger Northwest Arkansas region of nearly 600,000 — into an entrepreneurial powerhouse.

• In the past 20 years, family members have invested in world-class art museums, a medical school and holistic wellness, as well as trails, public art and other civic-oriented development.

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Ivanka Trump today will announce a new focus on access to fresh produce and healthy food, as part of growing national attention to "the role of nutrition in chronic disease and overall well-being," according to a preview provided to Axios.

Why it matters: Ivanka Trump, a West Wing official during her father's first term, has mostly stayed out of the spotlight during Trump 2.0. Thursday's appearance marks her return to the national conversation, using her celebrity to spotlight an urgent policy issue.

During a fireside chat on Thursday at the Heartland Summit in Bentonville, President Trump's oldest daughter will discuss how "private-sector solutions and whole-harvest sourcing are helping expand access to fresh food, support farmers, reduce waste and drive lasting impact across communities," according to the preview.

• She'll be interviewed onstage by Arianna Huffington — founder and CEO of Thrive Global — who tells Axios that Ivanka Trump's "decision to focus on democratizing access to healthy food comes at an unprecedented moment in our country's healthcare journey, where we're finally recognizing the scale of the crisis in chronic diseases."

🌽 Ivanka Trump is a co-founder of Planet Harvest, a "profit-for-purpose" company she started with her friend Melissa Melshenker Ackerman, a produce supply-chain expert who is the company's co-founder and CEO.

• "We launched Planet Harvest to reimagine how American produce moves— not just through the supply chain, but across communities," Ivanka Trump said in a statement to Axios.
• "By connecting fresh and surplus harvests with those who can benefit from them, we're supporting farmers, reducing food waste, expanding access and using good nutrition to improve health."

Ivanka Trump is in Bentonville for Thursday's Heartland Summit, an annual event that showcases Northwest Arkansas as a hub of growth and innovation. The summit was co-founded by Walmart heirs Olivia Walton, Tom Walton and Steuart Walton.

• The summit is hosted by Heartland Forward — a think tank, based in Bentonville, that focuses on the 20 states in the middle of the country.

The big picture: Make America Healthy Again, a movement led by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has become a signature issue of the Trump administration and the MAGA base.

• Former First Lady Michelle Obama, through her Let's Move! initiative, promoted healthier foods for schools to help reduce childhood obesity, and access to healthy, affordable food for families.

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President Trump's net job approval rating has dropped seven points since April 15, according to The Cook Political Report's new poll tracker.

• Why it matters: Trump has taken big hits from young voters, Latinos, and independents — three key groups that helped propel him to the White House.

"Continuing to track the president's approval among the coalition groups that propelled him to victory in 2024 will give us a strong indication of whether those voters will show up next year to support Republicans not named Donald Trump," CPR's Carrie Dann writes.

🧮 By the numbers: The shift was -11.8 points for 18-to-29-year-olds — the biggest drop of any group.

• For Latinos, Trump's net rating dropped 10.4 points.
• For independents, it was a net drop of 7.9.

Keep reading ... Crosstab trendlines ($).

The Trump administration is ramping up its efforts to crack down on what it calls "anti-Christian bias," telling federal workers to report any instances of such discrimination they've seen or experienced, Axios' Emily Peck and Russell Contreras write.

• Why it matters: The move reflects a persistent claim by President Trump's campaign as he courted evangelicals — that Christians are under attack in the U.S. — and is part of an ongoing push by conservatives to inject more religion into government.

The big picture: The administration's message is drawing criticism from federal workers and some Christian faith groups.

• They say it's confusing and possibly problematic for people — including Christians — who don't identify with the type of evangelicals the White House is trying to support.

🔭 Zoom in: Last week, Trump issued an executive order on religion, creating what he called a commission on religious liberty. He'd already announced a Faith Office and a plan aimed at "eradicating anti-Christian bias" that cited alleged anti-Christian activity by the Biden administration.

• Trump ordered up a task force on anti-Christian bias led by the Justice Department.

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Top MAGA voices fixated on the Vatican and the possibility of a conservative pope are hoping the conclave will help reawaken a global right-wing religious and political realignment, Axios MAGA media expert Tal Axelrod writes.

Why it matters: The papal succession — happening far beyond America's shores — touches the heart of the MAGA movement's push to prevent what it views as the destruction of "Western civilization."

• "People are tired of the mamby-pamby, light, shallow, substance-less Christian faith," Jack Posobiec, one of the most prominent Catholic MAGA voices, said yesterday.

Zoom in: Conservatives have repeated a small handful of names they'd prefer to succeed the progressive Pope Francis, though the guarded process is incredibly difficult to predict or influence.

• Raymond Burke, an American cardinal and a prominent voice in the church's conservative wing who has clashed with Francis.
• Péter Erdő, a Hungarian cardinal who won over conservatives when he closed church doors in his home country to migrants a decade ago, warning that "we would become human smugglers if we took in refugees."
• Gerhard Müller, a German, has said he wants the next pope to be "strong on doctrine."
• Robert Sarah, a Guinean cardinal, is a vocal Francis antagonist one of the first names offered by many traditionalists.

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There are now 233 U.S. cities where a typical starter home costs at least $1 million — nearly triple the number from March 2020, Axios' Sami Sparber writes from a Zillow report.

• Why it matters: It's a sharp reminder that homeownership is slipping further out of reach, especially for younger people. The median age of first-time buyers is pushing 40, the oldest on record.

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The 133 cardinals participating in the conclave returned to the Sistine Chapel this morning to try to find a successor to Pope Francis.

• Up to four votes are expected to be held today.

Between the lines: No conclave since 1831 has lasted longer than four days.

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