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.
Microsoft, which is also giving $1 million, previously contributed $500,000 to Trump’s first inauguration and donated the same amount to President Joe Biden’s inauguration fund, a company spokesperson told CNBC. Per CNBC, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has met with Trump multiple times, and was involved in negotiations over acquiring TikTok in 2020, when Trump tried to ban the app in the US.
