At the start of May, president Donald Trump thanked Michael and Susan Dell (yes, those Dells) for donating over $6 billion to ‘Trump Accounts,’ reportedly going toward at least 25 million children in America. In that thank-you speech, he urged listeners to “go out and buy a Dell.” That was after Trump filed that he purchased somewhere between $1 million and $5 million in Dell stocks, and just before the War Department signed a $9.7 billion deal with Dell. Now, just under two months later, Trump has once again urged listeners to buy Dell.
As posted by Headquarters on X (and shared via live stream to the official White House YouTube page), Trump recently encouraged those attending a press conference to “Go out and buy a Dell Computer” and said he has “a son that loves their laptop”. Referring to the over $6 billion donation figure, Trump points at Michael Dell and says, “We’re gonna get him that money back one way or the other.”
Trump follows this up by stating, while laughing, “and then I’ll ask for another $6.25 billion.”
President Trump does clarify that he thinks Michael Dell has not made that donation for Trump to advocate for his products. But given the public comments and deals made with Dell after that donation, I personally can’t help but feel it’s maybe not just a happy coincidence.