Google and Microsoft donate $1m each to Trump’s inaugural fund
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Tech giants follow footsteps of other major companies, including Amazon, Meta, OpenAI and Uber. Google and Microsoft have donated $1m each to Donald Trump’s inauguration fund, following in the footsteps of other major companies including Amazon, Meta, OpenAI and Uber.
“Google is pleased to support the 2025 inauguration, with a livestream on YouTube and a direct link on our homepage. We’re also donating to the inaugural committee,” Karan Bhatia, Google’s global head of government affairs and public policy, confirmed in a statement to the Guardian on Thursday.
The tech giant made the donation on Monday, CNBC reported. A Google spokesperson José Castaneda told the outlet that the company has donated to previous inauguration funds and previously hosted livestreams of inauguration ceremonies. A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed the company’s donation to Trump’s inaugural fund in a statement to Bloomberg on Thursday. The company donated $500,000 each to Trump’s inauguration in 2017 and Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021, Bloomberg reports.
A slew of other major companies made hefty donations to Trump’s inauguration fund in the last month; the fund will cover functions and activities connected with the ceremony. Amazon, Meta and OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman have all made donations of $1m, as well as Toyota and Uber.
The contributions, which have helped Trump’s inaugural committee raise a record $170m in donations, appear to be an attempt by tech giants to curry good favor with Trump ahead of his second term. By comparison, Joe Biden’s inauguration raised $63m in 2021 while Barack Obama’s inaugurations raised $53m in 2009 and $42m in 2013.
