Google donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund

Google donated $1 million to the president-elect Donald Trump’with inaugural fundhaving become the latest major technology company to try to show a good attitude towards the new administration.

“Google is excited to support the 2025 inauguration with a live stream on YouTube and a live link on our home page. We are also donating to the inaugural committee,” Karan Bhatia, Google’s global head of government affairs and public policy, told CNBC. statement.

The company made the donation on Monday. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Meta late last year, both announced donations of $1 million to the inaugural fund Amazon and an apple CEO Tim Cook also reportedly contributed.

After a candidate wins a US presidential election, they appoint an inaugural committee to organize and finance the inaugural events, such as inauguration ceremonies, celebrations, and parades. Unlike a direct contribution to a candidate’s campaign, there are no limits on how much a person—either a corporation or a labor group—can give to an inaugural committee.

Google has made donations at inaugurations in the past, and the live stream on YouTube and link to the inauguration on Google’s home page coincides with previous inaugurations, the spokesperson said.

Trump has had a rocky relationship with big tech companies over the years, and he hasn’t shied away from criticizing the sector since the election. Late last year, he made it clear that he would not rule out antitrust, which is a particular sore spot for Google.

US federal judge ruled in August that the company illegally has a monopoly on search and text advertising. Arguments in the second Google antitrust case advertising business closed in November, although the verdict has not yet been announced.

“Big Tech has run amok for years, stifling competition in our most innovative sector and, as we all know, using its market power to destroy the rights of many Americans, as well as the rights of Little Tech!” Trump wrote in his December 4 message Social truth.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai and former Alphabet president Sergey Brin met with Trump after the election, and Pichai publicly congratulated the president-elect on his “decisive victory” post on X.

— CNBC’s Kevin Breininger contributed to this report