Trump's inauguration: All-time high

Today, January 20, President-elect Donald Trump was inaugurated at Capitol Hill, beginning his 2025-2029 term. The inauguration ceremony of US President Donald Trump and his "deputy" James David Vance will officially begin at 12 noon.

US President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump after the initial results of the 2024 US presidential election were announced, in Florida, US, November 6, 2024. (Source: Reuters)

According to the adjusted schedule, the welcome musical performance is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. (9:30 p.m. Hanoi time). The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Choir and the US Marine Corps Band will play the opening music.

Senator Amy Klobuchar will restore order to begin the inauguration ceremony of Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance at 12 noon (0:00 on January 21, Hanoi time).

"Everyone wants to be my friend!!!"

In a status posted on the social network Truth Social on December 19, Mr. Trump wrote, "Everyone wants to be my friend!!!"

Inaugural fund donations are often seen as a way to curry favor with a new administration. And Mr. Trump’s second inaugural fund has so far raised a record of more than $170 million, breaking the record he set in 2017 and far surpassing the combined totals raised by Mr. Biden’s or Mr. Obama’s presidential inaugural committees for inauguration day events.

Why are American businesses so excited about Trump's inauguration?

Remarkably, “any previous stigma quickly evaporated when it came to the President-elect,” according to one Republican lobbyist.

Outside the White House, just days before Donald Trump’s inauguration, preparations are underway for the ceremony. Record corporate donations, including many first-timers from the worlds of technology, artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency, will fund all the expenses.

“I can look at it both ways,” said Jr. Lopez, a tourist from Dalton, Georgia, who was eager to visit the nation’s capital ahead of Trump’s inauguration. It’s an American tradition to honor the new president, with politicians from both parties in attendance — and it’s also considered a day for the people.

However, looking at the event from another perspective, Mr. Lopez said, "if there is too much influence of corporations in politics, it can cause problems. And that can even mean, ignoring the interests of the people in favor of large corporations."

The donations, while symbolic, show that some corporations have been vying for friendly relations with the president-elect, hoping that he will deliver on promises to roll back regulations that are unfavorable to them and vow to fire some of the executives who run regulatory agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission.

Some other companies may be offering money as an “apology” to Mr. Trump. The president-elect has publicly criticized companies for their disdain for him, including Meta’s Facebook — which Mr. Trump once called “the enemy of the people” for banning him from the platform after the Capitol Hill riots on January 6, 2021.

But CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently “turned the table” praising Mr. Trump and acknowledging that the company is making changes, such as shifting away from fact-checking to align with the current political climate. He will also attend the inauguration, along with other tech executives such as Apple’s Tim Cook and OpenAI’s Sam Altman.

“Inaugural fund donations are essentially about gaining support and access,” said Bruce Freed, president and co-founder of the Center for Political Accountability, a nonprofit that advocates for transparency in corporate political spending.

"They understand that the relationship with Trump will be transactional. Even Trump has made it clear that he will do what he wants, but he expects people to contribute," Freed added.

Republican lobbyist Ozzie Palomo, co-founder and CEO of Chartwell Strategy Group in Washington, DC, said there is more uncertainty now than in 2017, when Trump was just starting out as a businessman and politician. “People were very hesitant to connect and be public with Trump,” Palomo said. “But all that is gone now.”

“Of course, taking office is not an opportunity to address every policy concern, but it does allow businesses to express themselves and begin building relationships with key stakeholders who will hold positions of power for the next four years.”

Tech industry "introduces itself"

CBC News contacted 20 companies, most of which confirmed they had donated to Trump's inauguration fund.

Boeing has contributed $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump's 2024 inaugural fund, after donating the same amount to Biden's 2021 inaugural fund and Trump's first White House event. A spokesperson for the aerospace giant said the company was pleased to continue Boeing's "bipartisan tradition" of supporting presidential inaugural committees.

Google, Microsoft and Meta each donated $1 million to the fund.

An Uber spokesperson said the ride-hailing company also put $1 million into the fund (equivalent to the amount contributed to President Biden's inauguration in 2021) and revealed that CEO Dara Khosrowshahi personally donated $1 million during the US election year.

An OpenAI spokesperson also publicly disclosed that the company's CEO personally donated $1 million to the inaugural fund.

Spokespeople for oil giant Chevron, investment firm Goldman Sachs and automaker Toyota all confirmed the donations but did not disclose the amounts.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for cryptocurrency company Ripple said it donated the equivalent of $5 million of its own cryptocurrency, called XRP, to Mr. Trump’s inauguration.

Amazon, Apple, Adobe, Pfizer, Hyundai and Delta Air Lines did not respond to requests for comment. With the exception of Pfizer, which donated an unspecified amount, all are believed to have donated at least $1 million to the high-profile inaugural fund.

President Biden's 2021 inaugural fund has raised $62 million, but in-person celebrations have been limited due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Obama raised a then-record $53 million for his inaugural fund in 2009.

The inauguration is largely considered a nonpartisan political event. But it can also be an opportunity for businesses to show their support for a new president or administration, explains Brendan Glavin, chief information officer at OpenSecrets, a U.S. nonprofit that tracks money in politics.

“They don’t want to upset the president,” Glavin said. “If he’s angry with someone or a company doing something he doesn’t like, he’s not afraid to call them out in public. I think that’s actually more impactful than it has been with other presidents.”

While inaugural funds may receive a small amount of money from Congress to cover any related services, the majority of these funds are funded by individual and corporate contributions.

This year, a number of new industries emerged on the list of companies donating to Trump’s inauguration. For the first time, several cryptocurrency companies including Ripple, Robinhood and Coinbase are said to have donated to the fund, reflecting a desire to tap into an administration that has been enthusiastic about the new industry and has even endorsed a “crypto tycoon.”

Returning to the White House for a second time, Mr. Trump is considered much more powerful than in his first term and is trying to show off that power to the fullest. "Like a coming-out party for the political world, the tech world is seeing this as an opportunity to establish a more formal management structure to legitimize their activities in the world," said lobbyist Ozzie Palomo.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/le-nham-chuc-cua-ong-trump-ky-luc-cao-nhat-moi-thoi-dai-170-trieu-usd-moi-ky-thi-deu-tan-bien-chi-con-lai-hao-huc-va-han-hoan-301576.html