# Why Are Tech Billionaires Joining Trump’s China Trip Instead of Diplomats? 5/14/26 Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-mark-thompson-show-5748981/why-are-tech-billionaires-joining-trump-s-china-trip-instead-of-diplomats-5-14-26 Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-mark-thompson-show-5748981/why-are-tech-billionaires-joining-trump-s-china-trip-instead-of-diplomats-5-14-26.md Podcast: [The Mark Thompson Show](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-mark-thompson-show-5748981) Published: 2026-05-14T20:33:41+00:00 Episode link: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/why-are-tech-billionaires-joining-trump-s-china-trip-instead-of-diplomats-5-14-26--72010902 Audio file: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/72010902/pod_5_14.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-mark-thompson-show-5748981/episodes/why-are-tech-billionaires-joining-trump-s-china-trip-instead-of-diplomats-5-14-26 Duration seconds: 6350 ## Resource President Trump is in China with a delegation drawing scrutiny across Washington: family members, billionaire tech allies and business figures appear front and center, while longtime China experts and senior State Department voices are far less visible. Is Trump on the verge of a corrupt deal for himself and his family that won’t serve U.S. or historic interests? Is he prioritizing dealmaking and optics over diplomacy and strategy? Where are experienced American diplomatic voices at this pivotal moment? Mo Kelly is in for Mark Thompson and will discuss this and more. We welcome former federal prosecutor and now defense attorney David Katz to talk about the impending Trump deal with the IRS, redistricting battles headed to court and criticism of the Supreme Court. Then, we pivot to marijuana. Mark welcomes Dr. Peter Grinspoon. He is a primary care physician and a board-certified addiction specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Grinspoon's upcoming book is titled “Aging Well with Cannabis: Feel Better, Sleep Better and Live Better with Marijuana and CBD.” It’s a culmination of his hard work to help ‘canna-curious' seniors, family members, and caregivers by providing practical instructions, real-life case studies, and a balanced view of the benefits and risks of cannabis and CBS. ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-mark-thompson-show-5748981/episodes/why-are-tech-billionaires-joining-trump-s-china-trip-instead-of-diplomats-5-14-26/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-mark-thompson-show-5748981/why-are-tech-billionaires-joining-trump-s-china-trip-instead-of-diplomats-5-14-26.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.