Donald Trump was flummoxed by modern technology during a business roundtable, wondering aloud if 6G cellular networks would offer a “deeper view into somebody’s skin.”
The 79-year-old president met with business leaders at the White House on Wednesday, including Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon, Dell CEO Michael Dell, and IBM CEO Arvind Krishna.
Amon, who led his company’s 4G and 5G efforts, thanked Trump and his administration for working to “accelerate” the rollout of 6G—the sixth generation of cellular networks.
But Trump showed little awareness of his administration’s 6G initiatives—and even less understanding of the technology.
“So we’re into 6G now, oosh,” he said. “I was a leader on 5G, getting that down. And now they’re up to six.”
The elderly president, who dozed off at his last roundtable earlier this week, tried to make sense of the new generation of technology but landed far off the mark:
“What does that do? Give you a little bit deeper view into somebody’s skin? See how perfect it is.” The odd comment drew a few scattered laughs from the tech moguls in the room.
“I like the cameras from the old days. Sort of just had a nice feature,” reminisced the grandpa of 11, before glancing at Dell and getting sidetracked. “Now they cover every little—let’s see, Michael, you’re in good shape.”
He added, “But I tell you it’s, uhh, so six is coming, huh. Does it ever end, and what happens? You’ll be into seven, before six gets old, you’ll be into seven.”
6G is not meant for peering into people’s skin. Expected to be commercially available by the early 2030s, the new generation of cellular networks will build on 5G and promise faster download speeds, lower latency, and better energy efficiency.
During his first term, Trump pushed for 5G development, which began rolling out in 2018. And despite his apparent confusion about the technology, he tweeted in 2019:
“I want 5G, and even 6G, technology in the United States as soon as possible. It is far more powerful, faster, and smarter than the current standard.”
Trump may have fully embraced the cellular networks, but his conspiracy-peddling health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is likely not so enthusiastic.
Kennedy has spent years spreading unproven claims that the technology is linked to an epidemic of malignant brain tumors. As Trump was promoting 5G in 2019, Kennedy declared a “national battle to derail Big Telecom’s craven scheme to irradiate our children.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
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