Story perspectives

Trump Awards National Medals to Musk, Huang, Nadella

By Drooid · Oct 9, 2026, 3:22 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Trump Awards Medals

U.S. President Donald Trump awarded National Medal of Science to CEO Elon Musk and CEO Jensen Huang.
He also gave the medal to Google co-founder Sergey Brin and AMD CEO Lisa Su.
Trump presented National Medal of Technology and Innovation to CEO Satya Nadella and Dell founder Michael Dell.
August, Trump disclosed buying $1.6 million and selling $1 million of Nvidia stock.
Vice President JD Vance announced upcoming restrictions on Microsoft’s H-1B visa use.

Summary

Trump Buys SpaceX

President Donald Trump bought $1-5 million of SpaceX unsecured bonds on Aug 18, two days before signing a space transportation policy.
Ethics lawyer Richard Painter warned the purchase could appear corrupt because presidents lack conflict-of-interest restrictions.
Senator Elizabeth Warren called the trades “plain corruption” and urged Congress to ban officials’ stock ownership.
Trump's August filing listed 517 trades, $44.2 million purchases, $30.1 million sales, and simultaneous Pfizer buys and UnitedHealth sells.

History

Historical Context

The Ethics in Government Act of 1978, passed after Watergate and organized into six titles, mandated financial disclosure for the President, Vice President and senior officials. It created the Office of Government Ethics to enforce the rules. Today, President Donald Trump’s bond purchase and Nvidia trades by CEOs Elon Musk and Satya Nadella revive the Act’s aim to curb conflicts of interest.

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Trump Awards Medals

U.S. President Donald Trump awarded National Medal of Science to CEO Elon Musk and CEO Jensen Huang.
He also gave the medal to Google co-founder Sergey Brin and AMD CEO Lisa Su.
Trump presented National Medal of Technology and Innovation to CEO Satya Nadella and Dell founder Michael Dell.
August, Trump disclosed buying $1.6 million and selling $1 million of Nvidia stock.
Vice President JD Vance announced upcoming restrictions on Microsoft’s H-1B visa use.

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