On January 20th, Donald Trump is set to be sworn in as the 47th president of the United States to serve his second term. Immediately after his victory, many tech leaders publicly congratulated Trump and started making moves to win his favor, including schmoozing with the incoming president at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and making donations to his inauguration committee.
Tech leaders should have a visible presence at Trump’s inauguration, with Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook, Shou Zi Chew, Sundar Pichai, and Sam Altman all reported to be present. Musk is also scheduled to speak at a pre-inauguration rally, and Zuckerberg will reportedly host a black-tie event on Inauguration Day.
We’ll be covering the event and how tech leaders are a part of it.
a:hover]:shadow-highlight-franklin dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-highlight-franklin [&>a]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-white”>How to watch Donald Trump’s inauguration
C-SPAN will be hosting a livestream on YouTube. The livestream is scheduled to begin at 7AM ET, and the swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for 12PM ET. The inauguration will take place indoors at the United States Capitol Rotunda because of projected cold weather.
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Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook, Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai, and even TikTok’s CEO Shou Chew are among the powerful tech leaders lined up to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday, but Nvidia’s CEO won’t be joining them.
Reuters reports that when asked about his attendance, Jensen Huang said he would instead be celebrating the Lunar New Year “on the road” with employees and their families.
- a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Images
Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) are putting pressure on big tech firms to explain their motives for donating to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration fund. In letters to Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Uber, the lawmakers express concerns about the companies making contributions to “avoid scrutiny, limit regulation, and buy favor.”
Over the past several weeks, Google, Microsoft, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Meta, Amazon, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman all donated $1 million apiece to Trump’s inauguration, while Uber and its CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, each contributed $1 million. Many of these tech execs have already met with Trump, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is even hosting an inauguration party for the incoming president, according to The New York Times.
- TikTok and Google CEOs will also kiss the ring.
In addition to Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Tim Cook reportedly attending Trump’s inauguration on Monday, it now seems that Google’s Sundar Pichai will be attending as well.
Importantly, TikTok CEO Shou Chew is also expected to sit in a position of honor on the dais alongside former presidents and family members. Trump has vowed to save the app facing a US ban.
- Apple CEO Tim Cook will reportedly be at Trump’s inauguration, too.
He’ll be seated “alongside other major tech executives,” The New York Times reports. Unclear how close he’ll be to Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg.
Zuckerberg will also help host a party on Inauguration Day, the NYT says.
- Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg will all sit together at Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Wonder what their small talk will be like.
- a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Images
Google and Microsoft are the latest tech companies to donate to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. Each company contributed $1 million to the fund — the same amount pledged by Meta, Amazon, Sam Altman, and Tim Cook.
In a statement to CNBC, Karan Bhatia, Google’s global head of government affairs and public policy, said the company is supporting the inauguration “with a livestream on YouTube and a direct link on our homepage,” as well as with a financial contribution. The donation may be part of Google’s larger strategy to win over Trump, who has threatened to break up the tech giant or shut it down altogether.
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Apple CEO Tim Cook is the next tech exec to donate $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration committee, according to Axios. Cook’s donation follows similar commitments from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos through Amazon, and Meta as Big Tech companies and executives work to curry favor with the incoming administration.
Cook famously built a personal relationship with Trump during his first term that other tech CEOs are looking to replicate. He was one of many to congratulate Trump after his Election Day victory, and Axios reports that Cook has met with Trump at Trump Tower and his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
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Meta has donated $1 million to president-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration fund, The Wall Street Journal reports. Zuckerberg’s team reportedly told Trump’s inaugural committee about Meta’s planned donation before Zuckerberg and Trump dined together at Mar-a-Lago in November.
Before the dinner, Zuckerberg showed off Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses and gifted a pair to Trump, according to the Journal. Zuckerberg’s advisers also met with incoming White House officials, including incoming White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.