Donald Trump’s first White House victory caught corporate America flat-footed. This time around, industries that his administration will soon oversee are showering his inaugural committee with record-breaking donations — and making sure both the president-elect and the public notice their largesse.
Not only are companies giving far larger amounts than they did to Trump’s first inauguration — when they didn’t have a firm grasp of how to handle misgivings about the mercurial politician — they’re doing so in a far more public fashion, announcing the donations months before they have to be reported to federal regulators….
It’s also a far cry from as recently as four years ago, when much of corporate America made a show of cutting ties with Trump over his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Since then, Trump’s subsequent felony convictions, promises to pardon members of the mob who stormed the Capitol or seek revenge on those who prosecuted him have done little to dull the corporate quest for Trump’s approval.
A party at the Beaux-Arts mansion of the venture capitalist Peter Thiel. A blowout organized by hosts of the popular tech podcast “All-In” at a brand-new members-only club. A viewing ceremony hosted by an ascendant, Silicon Valley-inflected network of wealthy donors.
Some of the most coveted parties during President-elect Donald J. Trump’s inaugural weekend will be hosted by the Silicon Valley donors who are flush with power at the dawn of his second administration. The tech industry that has embraced Mr. Trump over the last year or so is set to revel in its clout over days of festivities that will make the tech donors the stars of the show.
Inaugurations attract deep-pocketed corporations and donors seeking access to an incoming administration that will oversee their industries and interests. Mr. Trump’s official inaugural committee has shattered fund-raising records.
Companies have poured in $1 million or more, including Fortune 500 stalwarts like Ford and General Motors; tech giants like Amazon and Google; cryptocurrency upstarts like Ripple and Robinhood; and traditional G.O.P. megadonors, including the coal billionaires Joseph W. Craft III and Kelly Knight Craft, who gave $1 million, according to a person with knowledge of their donation. In exchange, donors have been given tickets to exclusive official events, including intimate dinners with Mr. Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance, and V.I.P. access to the swearing-in ceremony on Monday….