Washington [US], December 27: Business leaders are scrambling to spend big on the second inauguration of Donald Trump, who will bring "Silicon Valley" to the White House on January 20, 2025.
US President-elect Donald Trump is on track to break his own record for funding for his inauguration in January 2025. The committee that manages the event estimates it will raise about $150 million for the organization, far surpassing the record set by Trump for his first inauguration in 2017 of $107 million, according to Rolling Stone magazine.
Big guys flock to sponsor
Much of the money came from companies that had previously expressed displeasure over the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by a mob trying to stop the certification of Joe Biden's victory. According to The Wall Street Journal , the inaugural committee has received money or pledges from at least 11 companies or lobbying organizations that have announced they will cut off funding to Trump-affiliated funds.
The move shows that business leaders are looking to reconnect with the incoming administration in hopes of doing better under a second Trump term. Ford, Toyota, Intuit, and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) all contributed $1 million. Other major donors include Amazon, Coinbase, General Motors, Bank of America, AT&T, Goldman Sachs, Meta, and Stanley Black & Decker. Stanley Black & Decker went big, donating $1 million to the inaugural event, up from $25,000 for Trump's 2017 inauguration.
Business leaders have been flocking to Mar-a-Lago, Florida, to meet with the president-elect and his team. In November alone, Trump hosted leaders from Amazon, Google, Eli Lilly, Meta, Pfizer and other major corporations. And December is no exception. CNBC quoted Brendan Glavin, research director at the Washington DC-based nonprofit OpenSecrets, as saying: "None of them want to be Trump's punching bag for the next four years." That's why they want to get his attention before it's too late.
The Heart of Silicon Valley
As Trump's inauguration approaches, a new force is preparing to "enter" the White House. The Hill points out that Silicon Valley technology leaders will take on both formal and informal roles during Trump's second term.
In addition to billionaire Elon Musk, Mr. Trump has chosen businessman David Sacks to be in charge of the White House 's artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptocurrency fields . This is a new role to steer the administration's policy towards two technology fields favored by Mr. Trump.
The president-elect also named Jacob Helberg, a senior adviser at Palantir Technologies, as undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment. Biotech investor Jim O'Neill will join the administration as undersecretary of health and human services. Trump is also reportedly considering Shyam Sankar, chief technical officer of Palantir, to be the Pentagon's chief research and engineering officer, while Anduril co-founder Trae Stephens could also join the Pentagon, according to Politico .
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
