Bill Gates meeting set with President Trump

Mr. Gates is going to Washington.

Microsoft co-founder and former CEO Bill Gates is meeting with President Donald Trump on Thursday, according to a report from CNN, citing Trump's public schedule. While the White House hasn't published details of the meeting, CNN said foreign aid will be a likely topic of discussion.

During a series of videos published by Politico Thursday, Gates said he hopes to discuss how foreign aid helps America, and the value of maintaining those commitments. He also hopes to offer ideas for new spending, like preparations for potential pandemics and bioterrorism.

The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The get-together marks both the latest meeting between Trump and a tech industry titan, and an unusual moment when the president meets with a critic. Last month, Gates spoke out against proposed cuts to foreign aid, calling them "severe." "The world is not a safer place when more people are sick or hungry," he said in a public letter.

Gates isn't the only tech luminary to take issue with Trump. Virtually every high-profile tech executive has spoken out against the president at one point or another in the past year, particularly criticizing his travel bans, his stance on transgender rights and the end of popular initiatives like net neutrality the DACA program to protect children brought to the US as children. 

This isn't the first time Gates has met with Trump and his team either, and though Gates said he disagrees "with this administration more than the others we've met with," he believes it's important to work together "whenever possible."

"We keep talking to them because if the US cuts back on its investments abroad, people in other countries will die, and Americans will be worse off," Gates wrote.

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