Big companies donate record $200 million to Donald Trump's inauguration

 The heavy funding from global American companies including Amazon, Meta, OpenAI, Google, Perplexity and Ford Motors is for better relations with the new administration. The New York Times reports

Saturday, January 11, 2025

Washington (UrduPoint News Today/ Latest News - International Press Agency - January 11, 2025) Fundraising for the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump has broken all previous records, with $170 million raised. Technology company executives and major donors have poured huge sums of money into the campaign to support the president-elect. These funds are usually spent on inauguration ceremonies, including the swearing-in ceremony, parades and other inauguration formalities.

According to the New York Times, $62 million was raised for President Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021, while a new record was set with $106 million for Trump’s first inauguration in 2016. According to Federal Election Commission records, President Joe Biden raised $62 million for his inauguration four years ago. When Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, he also set a new record at that time, as he raised more than $106 million for his inauguration ceremony. After Trump won a second term in the 2024 election, Amazon and Meta announced that they would give $1 million for the inauguration. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also announced that he would give $1 million, while Google has also given $1 million to the inaugural fund. Altman, who has been a Trump critic in the past, told Bloomberg that he is the president of the United States. I support any president. Late last year, Trump signaled that he would not rule out enforcing antitrust laws, a sensitive issue for a company like Google. Google’s global head of government affairs and public policy, Kiran Bhatia, told CNBC that Google will livestream the 2025 inauguration ceremony on YouTube and provide a direct link on our homepage. We are also funding the inauguration committee. Apple CEO Tim Cook has also funded the inauguration. After winning an election, candidates typically appoint an inauguration committee that organizes and finances the events.

There is no limit on the amount of money that can be donated to the inaugural committee, and companies or individuals can give as much as they want. Last month, Ford also announced a $1 million donation and a caravan of vehicles for the inauguration. AI search startup Perplexity will also donate $1 million to the inauguration fund. Chief Business Officer Dmitry Shevchenko told Bloomberg that it is also providing the administration with a free version of its premium software to be a “good partner” to the incoming administration.

The inaugural committee is required to provide the Federal Election Commission with details of the funding 90 days after the inauguration. According to the New York Times, the inaugural committee has stopped selling tickets to attend the inauguration ceremony to major donors, even as some donors who have donated more than $1 million have been put on a waiting list or told that VIP tickets are already unavailable. Funders typically seek seats for the inauguration ceremony or tickets to attend the inauguration.

Inaugural events are especially important for lobbyists as they use funds from corporate sponsors and wealthy donors to expand their influence or improve their relationships with the incoming administration. Potential donors were told this week that seats were no longer available for some events, and fundraisers who had been sharing donation links with their networks had stopped working by Tuesday and Wednesday.

The inauguration-related events will begin on January 17. Those who gave $1 million or raised $2 million were given six tickets to six events, including a candlelit dinner with Donald Trump and new first lady Melania Trump on January 19 and the inauguration ceremony. Such individuals were also given two tickets to a dinner with newly elected Vice President J.D. Vance and his wife, Usha Vance. The packages offered to corporate and individual donors were previously advertised as being available by Friday, but due to high demand, they have already sold out. The committee could potentially raise more than $200 million.