Overview
- In a private note to staff, Altman wrote that "what's happening with ICE is going too far" and framed pushback on government overreach as patriotic.
- He called President Trump "a very strong leader" and expressed hope the president would unite the country with transparent investigations.
- Altman said OpenAI would push back against overreach, avoid performative statements, and stick to the company’s convictions.
- Employees on Slack reacted positively with heart and thank-you emojis, and The New York Times’ DealBook was credited with first reporting the message before Business Insider published details.
- The message followed the fatal ICE shooting of Alex Pretti near Minneapolis during a federal enforcement surge, as the White House press secretary declined to tie the president to earlier comments by Kristi Noem and Stephen Miller.