Google co-founder Sergey Brin and CFO Ruth Porat were both upset following Donald Trump's general election victory, newly released video shows. (Getty Images)
Not long after Donald Trump won the general election in 2016, the executives of Google held a company meeting in which they expressed their disappointment at the result, newly released video has revealed.
The recording, which was provided anonymously to and reported by Breitbart News, was made by the tech giant and showed several of the company’s leaders.
At the top of the video, co-founder Sergey Brin said that he’s aware "this is probably not the most joyous TGIF we have had."
“You know, let’s face it, most people here are pretty upset and pretty sad for … because of the election," Brin said. “Myself, as an immigrant and a refugee, I certainly find this election deeply offensive and I know many of you do, too. And I think it’s a very stressful time and it conflicts with many of our values.”
The video also showed that a vice president, Kent Walker, described the outcome of the election as “a shock to all of us."
“It was a shock to all of us, the results of the election. It was a fair and democratic process and we honor that,” Walker said. “But at the same time it showed an incredible level of division among Americans and that’s something that gives us pause and focuses on how did we misunderstand that, what can we do to reach out to people whose perspective we have a hard time understanding.”
“But it’s not just a challenge for America. It’s a challenge that goes well beyond America,” he continued. “The implications for the rest of the world are vast. And the echoes around the world are significant. This is not the first sign we’ve seen of this rising tide of nationalism, populism and concern.”
CFO Ruth Porat later took the stage and told the group that though she was a “longtime Hillary supporter,” she respected “the outcome of the democratic process.”
“Who any one of us voted for is really not the point, because the values that are held dear at this company transcend politics, because we’re going to constantly fight to preserve them,” she said.
In a statement provided to Fox News, a Google spokesperson confirmed that at a previously planned meeting, some company employees shared “their own personal views” following the presidential election. However, the spokesperson said, none of the comments indicated “that any political bias ever influences” how their products are constructed or designed to perform.
“Nothing was said at that meeting, or any other meeting, to suggest that any political bias ever influences the way we build or operate our products. To the contrary, our products are built for everyone, and we design them with extraordinary care to be a trustworthy source of information for everyone, without regard to political viewpoint,” the statement continued.
Media Research Center President Brent Bozell, in a statement to Fox News, slammed the comments in the video.
“This video is the smoking gun. Google’s leadership is decidedly anti-Trump and there is no doubt that their company practices reflect that,” Bozell said. “We need hearings now. Google cannot continue to run and hide.”
The video revelation comes on the heels of accusations of political bias leveled against Google after an employee’s leaked email mentioned the company’s efforts with a Latino nonprofit prior to the 2016 election.
The email, written by Google’s former head of multicultural marketing and obtained exclusively by Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” details various ways the company worked to increase voter turnout.
However, a spokesperson for Google fired back at the claims Wednesday, saying that “the employee’s email is an expression of her personal political views about the outcome of the 2016 election and those views do not reflect any official stance by the company.”
Fox News’ Brian Flood and Christopher Carbone contributed to this report.
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