Access to Trump and Vance is twice as expensive for donors at inauguration
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Exclusive: dinners with both the president and vice president-elect will cost $1m, up from $500,000. Major donors to Donald Trump’s inaugural committee are having to contribute twice as much to get direct access to him and vice-president-elect JD Vance at private events around the swearing-in ceremony compared with the first inauguration, according to fundraising materials.
![[A rate card showing the amounts given or raised to gain access to Trump and/or Vance before the swearing in.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/648cbc2385430888f543e5da52516260e62e807a/0_0_924_570/master/924.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
The ability to briefly interact with Trump and Vance requires donors to contribute at least $1m to the committee – the highest-tier ticket package – in a marked increase from the previous cycle when the same access cost $500,000. That top-tier package provides donors and lobbyists seeking to curry favor with the second Trump administration with two tickets to a dinner with the vice president-elect and six tickets to the “candlelight dinner” where Trump will be in attendance.
![[A paper which lists the benefits of various amounts of contribution to different events]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/78b9e2951aa1646a3312d6f278e1b464999cb18d/0_0_1216_382/master/1216.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
The increased donation amounts needed to have face time with Trump and Vance reflects the dramatic increase in demand to get on his good side after a divisive election where many deep-pocketed donors stood on the sidelines waiting to see the outcome. With Trump’s imminent return to the White House and his known personal interest in who has supported him, according to people familiar with the matter, a number of people expected to have business before the federal government have made major donations at the $1m level.
