Google and Microsoft are each contributing $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump's inaugural fund, joining a slew of technology companies that are funding festivities in an effort to garner support from the incoming administration.
Google and Microsoft confirmed the donations to The Post.
“Google is pleased to support the 2025 Inauguration with a live stream on YouTube and a direct link to our homepage. We are also donating to the inaugural committee,” Google Government Affairs & Public Policy said. global head Karan Bhatia told the Post.
Google has contributed to the inaugural fund in the past, and its promotion of the inauguration livestream is consistent with past years, but Federal Election Commission filings show that Google's contribution of $1 million was the largest in 2017. That's more than triple the $285,000 donated to President Trump's inaugural fund. Reviewed by Newsweek.
Microsoft has also contributed to past inaugural funds, contributing $500,000 to both President Joe Biden's 2021 inauguration and President Trump's 2017 inauguration.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who is currently embroiled in a legal battle with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a close ally and campaign donor to President Trump, said he as well as announcing a $1 million donation to the founding fund. Amazon and Apple CEO Tim Cook also reportedly donated to the fund.
Unlike presidential election campaigns, there is no limit to the amount individuals can contribute to the inaugural fund, which funds opening ceremonies, galas, and events.
Big tech companies have warmed to the president-elect as his second term approaches, concerned about his past comments suggesting he would not rule out antitrust enforcement.
This is particularly concerning for Google, whose search engine was ruled an illegal monopoly in August 2024. The verdict in the second antitrust lawsuit against Google's advertising business has not yet been announced.
“Big Tech has been running wild for years, stifling competition in the most innovative sectors, and, as we all know, using its market power to control not only the rights of Little Tech but also Trump is cracking down on the rights of so many Americans. In a post on his platform “Truth Social” he wrote: In December.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai congratulated President Trump on his “decisive victory” in a post on X and spoke with the president-elect after the election. This is another sign that technology industry leaders are trying to win support from the incoming administration.
Earlier this week, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta would be ending its fact-checking and content moderation policies, which have fiercely opposed restrictions on free speech on social media platforms. It was a victory for Trump and Musk.
Zuckerberg referenced Trump in his announcement, saying he wants to work with the president-elect to prevent censorship and criticizing “legacy media” for writing about misinformation after Trump's first election victory. The tech mogul recently dined with President Trump the day before Thanksgiving.
This is a sharp reversal for Meta, which banned President Trump's Facebook account after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Mr. Zuckerberg has spoken out against Mr. Trump many times over the years, criticizing Mr. Trump's comments on the Black Lives Matter movement and expressing concern about Mr. Trump's 2017 immigration policies.
Mehta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tensions escalated over the summer after President Trump threatened Zuckerberg with prison time in a book after the couple donated hundreds of millions of dollars to support election infrastructure in 2020.
At Tuesday's press conference, President Trump was asked if he thought Zuckerberg was “directly responding to threats he's made against him in the past.” He answered, “Probably.”
