Amazon has confirmed its intention to contribute $1 million to the inauguration fund of President-elect Donald Trump, marking a significant move in the context of the company’s efforts to foster a better relationship with the incoming administration. This declaration came as tech companies are re-evaluating their connections with the future president. In addition to the financial contribution, Amazon will also broadcast Trump’s inauguration live on its Prime Video platform, which represents an additional in-kind donation valued at $1 million.
Earlier in the same day, it was announced that Meta, the parent organization of Facebook and Instagram, had also pledged $1 million toward Trump’s inauguration. The news about Amazon’s plans was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, coinciding with Trump’s remarks about a forthcoming meeting with Amazon’s founder, Jeff Bezos, scheduled for next week. The two have had a contentious relationship, with Trump previously criticizing Amazon and expressing disdain for the news coverage provided by The Washington Post, a publication owned by Bezos.
In previous years, Bezos had publicly rebuked some of Trump’s comments. Notably, Amazon challenged the Trump administration’s fairness in a legal proceeding regarding a $10 billion Pentagon contract, arguing that Trump’s bias negatively influenced their bid. Under the Biden administration, both Amazon and Microsoft were approached regarding this contract.
Recently, Bezos has adopted a more cooperative demeanor. At a New York event hosted by The New York Times, he expressed optimism about Trump’s upcoming term, indicating support for the president-elect’s regulatory cuts. In a notable decision, Bezos prevented The Washington Post from endorsing any presidential candidates, a choice that prompted backlash from subscribers and protests from long-standing staff members. He argued that such endorsements could instigate perceptions of bias in a post-truth era where media credibility is under scrutiny.
In a related development, Meta’s donation was highlighted by the same publication, following a private meeting between Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Trump at Mar-a-Lago. A representative from Meta confirmed the $1 million donation, which aligns with Trump’s economic initiatives that Stephen Miller, appointed to be deputy chief of staff for Trump’s second term, has acknowledged.
Trump had previously been suspended from Facebook after the January 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection but was reinstated early in 2023. While Zuckerberg has not officially endorsed a presidential candidate for 2024, he has shown a shift toward a more favorable view of Trump, including praise for the former president’s response to a prior assassination attempt.
Despite this apparent thawing of relations, Trump has continued to criticize Zuckerberg publicly, even using derogatory terms in messages on his social media platform, Truth Social, which indicates ongoing tension.
Corporate contributions have historically formed a considerable part of the financing for presidential inaugural events, with Barack Obama’s 2009 election being an exception, as he opted against accepting corporate funds at that time. However, he changed this stance during his 2013 inauguration. Notably, Facebook did not contribute to either Biden’s 2021 function or Trump’s 2017 inauguration. According to records from the Federal Election Commission, Google provided $285,000 each to both Trump’s first inauguration and Biden’s. While inaugural committees must declare the sources of their funds, they are not obliged to disclose how these funds are utilized.
In the context of previous contributions, Microsoft had given $1 million to Obama’s second inauguration but opted for lower amounts of $500,000 for both Trump and Biden’s inaugurals. For reference, Amazon had contributed significantly less, around $58,000, to Trump’s first inauguration compared to this year’s announced million-dollar donation, in contrast to streaming Biden’s inauguration in 2021 on Prime Video.
