Some of the largest, most powerful companies in the United States are racing to finance President-elect Donald Trump's inaugural fund as they attempt to court favor with the incoming administration, which has promised a further reduction of the corporate tax rate.
The Wall Street Journal earlier this week identified "at least 11 companies and trade associations that are backing the inauguration, which is on track to bring in a record fundraising haul, after earlier pledging to suspend or reconsider political-action committee donations after January 6, 2021."
The list includes the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the drug industry's top U.S. lobbying group, as well as Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Intuit, General Motors, and Toyota.
"Some donors are substantially boosting their inaugural donations from previous years," the Journal reported. "The telecom company Charter Communications, which gave $350,000 to [President Joe] Biden's fund and $250,000 to Trump's 2017 fund, is donating $1 million this time. Uber Technologies, which gave $1 million to Biden's, donated $1 million to the inauguration, in addition to another $1 million from Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi."
Additionally, according to the Journal, "corporate executives have been flocking to Mar-a-Lago, Trump's Florida resort, in the weeks since the election to meet with the president-elect and his team, in the hopes that building a relationship could make the incoming administration friendlier to their causes."
"Trump has met with the chief executives of Meta Platforms, Amazon, Google, Pfizer, Eli Lilly, and others in recent weeks," the newspaper added. Meta, headed by billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, has donated $1 million to Trump's tax-exempt inaugural committee, which is not subject to contribution limits.
Amazon has vowed to pump $1 million into the inaugural fund, as has Ford—which is also reportedly supplying the event with a fleet of vehicles.
"EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE MY FRIEND!!!" Trump wrote in a Truth Social post earlier this month.
A prospectus obtained by Axios indicates that donors who give $1 million to the inaugural fund will receive tickets to the January 20 swearing-in ceremony as well as a "Cabinet reception," a "Make America Great Again rally," and other events. Only those who donate at least $100,000 will be allowed to attend a "One America, One Light Sunday Service" with Trump and his wife, Melania, according to the document.
Trump, whose proposed Cabinet is packed with billionaires with extensive ties to corporate America, is reportedly keeping track of the major companies that have not yet donated to his inaugural fund.
"In the past few weeks, Trump has at times asked close allies about how much major corporations have donated to the inaugural committee, and has sometimes inquired about specific companies by name," Rolling Stonereported Wednesday, citing an unnamed person with direct knowledge.
"Earlier this month, when the president-elect asked about one big-name corporation and was told it hadn't donated, Trump replied, 'Well, they better do it soon then,'" Rolling Stone added.
