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American oligarchs such as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Apple CEO Tim Cook were all seen sitting behind Donald Trump’s family at church on Monday morning, just hours before the inauguration of the incoming president. And it’s a great reminder that the United States is about to enter a scary new era that begins when Trump is sworn in as the 47th president at noon ET.
Trump attended St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington DC on Monday, a tradition that has been observed by past presidents such as Barack Obama and George W. Bush. But those presidents don’t have business leaders who can benefit from the incoming administration filling the benches.
Photographer Anna Moneymaker captured the images from inside the church, and it is a who’s who of the richest and most powerful people in the world of technology, including guys like Zuckerberg, Bezos and Cook, as well as the CEO of Google Sundar Pichai and podcaster Joe Rogan.
The Big Tech Mafia appeared to be largely sitting in a row, while Bezos’ partner Lauren Sánchez was also lined up next to former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, according to the Washington Post.
A notable absence from the church was Elon Musk, at least based on the photos that were captured by the pool photographer. Musk and other Big Tech CEOs all have huge contracts with the US government through their respective companies and can benefit from being close to Trump. Thirteen billionaires are set to take on formal roles in Trump’s White House.
Commentators on CNBC defend the presence of oligarchs in the church. Chris Sununu, former governor of New Hampshire, was asked about the presence of these business leaders and seemed excited by the visual on Monday, saying that “they were not bureaucrats” who were in the banks. The suggestion, of course, is that CEOs would be better at running the country.
Podcaster Joe Rogan was also in the church next to the incoming president, captured in a photo that gives Trump a pretty weird look. Rupert Murdoch, the 93-year-old media magnate who owns a wide swath of conservative media around the world, was also present. Trump sat at the church next to incoming vice president JD Vance and his wife, incoming second lady Usha Vance. Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner were seated in the row behind the president.
Trump has promised to issue a flurry of executive actions as soon as he takes office, including pardons for the insurgents who stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. But there have been conflicting reports about if Trump pardoned the most violent coups.
President Joe Biden released his own preventive pardons The first Monday for figures like General Mark Milley and Dr. Anthony Fauci, people who Trump has suggested will be targeted for retribution when he takes power. In fact, Trump has already suggested that Milley should be executed for treason. So, Americans will find out soon enough if they are worth the paper these pardons are written on.
Trump also launched his own cryptocurrency late Friday, arguably one of the most dangerous actions he could have taken before formally entering the White House, given its ability to transfer wealth from the masses to Trump personally. Crypto also risks destabilizing the global economy as people around the world make a bet that anything associated with the most powerful person in the world is a good investment.
The $TRUMP coin quickly became one of the most traded coins over the weekend, accounting for nearly 90% of Trump’s net worth, according to Axios. A total of 80% of the coins are owned collectively by CIC Digital LLC, an affiliated company of the Trump Organization, and Fight Fight Fight LLC, also of Trump’s company, according to him. USA Today. Before, it was just illegal print your own money.
If you are an American, things are about to change really fast. And all we can do is try to protect the vulnerable in our communities as best we can while Trump and his henchmen ransack the country.
