US President Donald Trump has dinner with technology leaders at a state cafeteria in Washington, DC, USA on Thursday, September 4th, 2025.
Oliver | Bloomberg | Getty Images
President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to launch a trade investigation to “nullify” what he said. Google and apple.
“We cannot make this into brilliant and unprecedented American originality. If so, I will be forced to launch Section 301 to override the unfair penalties accused of these tax-paying American companies,” Trump wrote of the Truth Society.
He issued the threat after Google scored a nearly $3.5 billion penalty from the European Union in a major antitrust case centered on the search giant ad technology business.
The post came the day after Trump hosted dinner at the White House and hosted dinner with top technical executives who praised the president.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai thanked Trump after a US judge issued a favorable ruling in a groundbreaking antitrust case against the Alphabet. Pichai said he appreciated the administration’s “constructive dialogue.”
In a social media post, the president accused Europe of “otherwise, he would go to American investment and work.”
“This is on top of many other fines and taxes issued, especially against Google and other American tech companies,” Trump wrote. “It’s very unfair and American taxpayers don’t support it!”
In a follow-up post Friday afternoon, Trump alleged that Google had previously paid $13 billion in “false claims and claims.”
It was unclear where those numbers came from, but recently they have faced a series of large regulatory fines.
He also called on the EU for squeezing billions of dollars from Apple with back taxes and fines due to suspected anti-competition practices.
The post alleges that Apple was fined $17 billion, but the figures appear to include a 2024 court ruling in Ireland.
Apple “should get the money back!” Trump wrote.
