How Sam Altman Sidestepped Elon Musk to Win Over Donald Trump
Sam Altman was on the phone with Donald Trump just days before Trump's inauguration preparing the announcement to build data centers across the country. Altman was relegated to the overflow room during the inauguration, but he stood behind Trump in the Roosevelt Room of the White House the day after as Trump announced Stargate, describing it as the largest AI infrastructure project by far in history. Stargate had been in the works for months, but the announcement was timed for Trump to take credit for it in his first days in office. This article takes a behind-the-scenes look at how the deal came about.