President-elect Donald Trump is set to be inaugurated on January 20, and it appears that major players are eager to win his favor before the event. HP has recently joined a list of significant tech companies that have contributed substantial amounts to Trump’s inaugural fund.
In contrast, Meta, which did not make any contributions to President Biden’s inauguration, has opted to eliminate its controversial fact-checking program on Facebook and other platforms. Instead, the company will adopt a model inspired by X’s Community Notes.
This move has been interpreted as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg trying to align himself with the incoming president.
Apple donated $43,200 to President Biden’s inauguration but has contributed a million dollars to Trump. CEO Tim Cook has also discussed with Trump the challenges Apple encounters when doing business in the EU. Amazon contributed $276,000 to Biden’s inaugural fund, but it also donated a million dollars to Trump.
Other major tech companies that have donated generously to Trump’s inauguration fund include:
- Microsoft
- OpenAI
In my view, it is evident why there is such widespread support being expressed at this time: the imminent threat posed by Donald Trump’s tariffs. These tariffs could significantly complicate business operations for all the previously mentioned companies.
Mark Gurman, an insider at Apple for Bloomberg, believes that, similar to during Trump’s first term, Tim Cook will seek to have Apple exempted from these tariffs. Additionally, statements from the websites of certain companies that may have angered Trump are beginning to vanish.
During the first term, everyone was against me. In this term, everyone wants to be my friend.
Support for Donald Trump has not been well received in certain online communities, where users are asserting that the country is on the brink of disaster. On the other hand, other platforms are celebrating this shift and suggesting that it’s clear many will want to align themselves with the incoming president.
It is still too early to determine how Trump’s proposed tariff plan might impact these companies, assuming the plan is implemented at all. Nevertheless, I believe that very few will be shocked by the significant donations many companies have made. They must safeguard their business models, regardless of the means required.
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