With two weeks remaining until the U.S. presidential inauguration, the cryptocurrency industry has also frequently courted Trump through donations, meetings, and other means. Naturally, the tech industry is no exception; as a tech giant, Google also announced a donation of one million dollars as part of Trump's inauguration fund, while well-known companies like Meta and OpenAI had already joined the funding ranks.
Google announced its donation and also provided YouTube live streaming and a homepage link.
According to reports, Google announced on Monday that it would donate one million dollars to Trump's inauguration committee and plans to provide live coverage of the inauguration ceremony through YouTube, as well as set up a live link on Google's search homepage for users worldwide to watch in real time.
Karan Bhatia, Google's global head of public policy, stated: 'We are pleased to support the 2025 presidential inauguration activities. We are also using donations to support this historic moment.' Bhatia added that this live streaming arrangement and sponsorship continue the tradition of supporting presidential inauguration activities, similar to previous years.
Meta and OpenAI have already expressed their positions; donations from tech giants have become the norm.
In fact, Google is not the first tech company to donate to Trump's inauguration committee. As early as last year, Meta and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced a donation of one million dollars each to Trump. Reports indicate that Amazon and Apple CEO Tim Cook are also on the donation list.
According to the U.S. electoral system, after a presidential election, an inauguration committee is established to organize events such as the opening ceremony, balls, and parades. Unlike direct political donations, there are no limits on the amount that individuals, companies, or labor organizations can donate to the inauguration committee, making it a more attractive way for companies to show support.
Apple CEO Tim Cook explained product visuals to Trump; Trump has a tense relationship with the tech industry, facing significant antitrust pressure.
Despite the tech industry frequently courting Trump, his past attitude towards the tech industry has not been friendly, having criticized major tech companies multiple times for 'monopolizing the market and suppressing small businesses.' In December of last year, Trump warned on his social media platform Truth Social that major tech companies were engaging in 'market monopolizing behavior.'
This is quite sensitive for Google as a U.S. federal court ruled last August that Google had monopolistic behavior in search and text advertising, and subsequently completed a second antitrust case against Google's advertising business in November, with the ruling still pending.
Trump specifically mentioned Meta's policy changes, stating: 'They might be afraid of me.'
After Trump's criticism of the tech industry, Facebook founder Zuckerberg also stated on January 7 in an official Meta announcement that he would reform Meta's content review mechanisms and end third-party fact-checking programs, while promoting the Community Notes system. At the same time, he would relax some content restrictions on mainstream political topics, focusing on handling illegal or major violations.
Furthermore, Trump expressed appreciation for Meta's changes during a press conference in Florida on January 8, and when asked if he believed Meta CEO Zuckerberg was responding to his past threats, Trump simply stated: 'Maybe.'
(Trump's new book reveals future plans, publicly threatening Meta founder Zuckerberg)
Google executives reached out to Trump seeking to repair relations.
After the election, interactions between Google and Trump gradually increased. Google CEO Sundar Pichai and former Alphabet president Sergey Brin both met with Trump, and Pichai even congratulated Trump on Twitter for 'winning beautifully.' In summary, tech giants are trying to ease tensions with Trump through donations and policy adjustments while gaining an advantage in the new government's policy landscape.
This article reports that Google donated one million dollars just before Trump's inauguration, and Trump indirectly criticized Zuckerberg for major changes to Meta's content review: 'It's good to be afraid'. Originally appeared in Chain News ABMedia.