Big Tech Is Paying For Trump’s White House Ballroom

While nan U.S. authorities remains successful limbo during a shutdown, nan White House grounds person been engaged this week. Construction workers person begun demolition connected nan White House’s East Wing, which will beryllium replaced by a 90,000-square-foot ballroom that’s estimated to clasp up to 1,000 guests.

Taxpayers are not backing President Donald Trump’s $250 cardinal project. Rather, he is utilizing backstage donations to conception his lavish summation to nan White House.

The White House released a list of nan project’s funders connected Thursday, which see immoderate of nan astir influential American tech companies, for illustration Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft, arsenic good arsenic defense companies for illustration Palantir and Lockheed Martin and telecom providers for illustration Comcast and T-Mobile. The crypto manufacture is besides represented among nan White House ballroom donors, pinch money coming from Coinbase, Ripple, Tether America, and nan Winklevoss twins.

It is not clear really overmuch each philanthropist has contributed to nan project. However, astatine slightest $20 million from Google is portion of a caller suit settlement complete YouTube’s suspension of Trump’s relationship aft nan January 6, 2021, riots. TechCrunch asked Google if nan money from nan colony represents nan afloat grade of nan company’s contributions, but has not yet received an answer.

Silicon Valley’s narration pinch Trump has changed markedly. While overmuch of nan tech manufacture initially resisted Trump erstwhile he became president for nan first clip successful 2016, it has cozied up to Trump during his 2nd term. Meta, for instance, did not donate to Trump’s first inauguration fund, but contributed $1 cardinal to nan president’s 2nd inauguration; Amazon donated $58,000 nan first time, but made a heftier $1 cardinal aid this clip around.

These donations bespeak a greater alignment betwixt Trump and nan tech industry.

The manufacture could beryllium much consenting to cooperate pinch Trump’s existent management because galore of these awesome tech companies are facing antitrust litigation. The Trump management has been overmuch little fierce successful its antitrust enforcement than erstwhile President Joe Biden’s FTC was nether erstwhile FTC Chair Lina Khan.

Trump has besides taken a much aggressive approach to AI improvement than his predecessor, which is simply a financial boon for nan companies building retired that technology. In his AI action plan, which was unveiled successful July, Trump and his management outlined a extremity to trim reddish portion and usage authorities costs to support nan building of information centers.