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Amazon is set to donate $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural fund, matching a similar contribution from Meta, marking a significant shift in corporate engagement with the incoming administration.
In addition to the monetary donation, Amazon will also provide an in-kind contribution of $1 million by streaming Trump’s inauguration live on Prime Video, according to multiple reports on Thursday. This move signals a strategic effort by major tech firms to forge closer ties with Trump following his victory in the 2024 presidential election.
Trump revealed on Thursday, during a visit to the New York Stock Exchange, that he is scheduled to meet with Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos next week. "Jeff Bezos is coming up next week," Trump said, signaling an apparent thaw in the once-contentious relationship between the two figures.
The relationship between Trump and Bezos has historically been rocky. During Trump’s first term in office, he frequently criticized both Amazon and The Washington Post, which is owned by Bezos. Trump accused The Post of bias and repeatedly targeted Amazon, alleging that the e-commerce giant was taking advantage of the U.S.
Postal Service and undercutting traditional retailers. In 2019, Amazon argued in court that it lost a major Pentagon cloud computing contract due to Trump's personal animosity toward Bezos. The public feud between the two was widely seen as emblematic of Trump's contentious approach to Big Tech during his first term.
However, the tone appears to have shifted since Trump’s return to political prominence. Bezos, who previously kept his distance during the 2020 election, took a more public stance this time. After Trump's 2024 election win, Bezos offered congratulations on social media, a gesture he notably did not extend to President Biden after his 2020 victory.
“Big congratulations to our 45th and now 47th President on an extraordinary political comeback and decisive victory,” Bezos wrote. “No nation has bigger opportunities. Wishing [Trump] all success in leading and uniting the America we all love.”
Bezos’s congratulatory message comes amid broader efforts by tech leaders to foster better relations with Trump. Other executives from the tech industry, many of whom had distanced themselves from Trump during his first term, are now seeking to rebuild those bridges.
Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has already donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund, a move that was announced just weeks after CEO Mark Zuckerberg met privately with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
The Washington Post's editorial stance also reflects this shift. While the paper’s editorial board had initially drafted an endorsement for Vice President Kamala Harris, it ultimately decided against making a formal endorsement in the 2024 presidential election, following Bezos's decision to nix endorsements from the newspaper entirely.
This move has been interpreted as a sign of Bezos's willingness to maintain a neutral stance, a departure from the often critical tone the paper took toward Trump during his first term.
In addition to his interactions with Bezos, Trump has also made efforts to engage with other leaders in Bezos's orbit.
In October, Trump met with senior executives from Blue Origin, Bezos's aerospace company. During his campaign stop in Texas, Trump held talks with CEO David Limp and vice president of government relations Megan Mitchell, underscoring his desire to strengthen ties with influential figures in the private space industry.
Amazon’s substantial donation to Trump’s inauguration fund highlights the growing rapprochement between the incoming administration and Big Tech. With Meta and Amazon both making significant financial contributions, it appears that some of the biggest names in technology are seeking to secure a seat at the table as Trump prepares for his second term.
This shift is especially notable considering Trump's previous antagonistic stance toward Big Tech during his first presidency, where he frequently called for regulation and launched attacks on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Amazon.
The decision by Meta to contribute to Trump's inaugural fund came shortly after CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s private meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, signaling an effort to repair relationships with the new administration.
For Zuckerberg, the meeting may be seen as a pragmatic move to safeguard Meta’s interests amid ongoing scrutiny from regulators and lawmakers over antitrust issues and misinformation on social media platforms.
Amazon's decision to donate $1 million and provide a free Prime Video stream of Trump’s inauguration suggests a more collaborative approach than during Trump’s first term.
The dual financial and in-kind contribution indicates that Amazon is looking to strengthen its ties with the incoming administration, possibly to avoid a repeat of past confrontations over issues like antitrust scrutiny and government contracts.
As Trump prepares to re-enter the White House, corporate America is clearly adjusting its strategy. By aligning with the incoming president, companies like Amazon and Meta may be hoping to secure more favorable treatment from the new administration.
This shift in approach underscores how major corporations are willing to put aside past differences to safeguard their business interests, even if it means forming new alliances with political figures they once opposed.
