3 min read
Several tech billionaires and key figures from his inner circle accompanied President-elect Donald Trump as he commenced his inauguration festivities, which kicked off with a church service on Monday morning.
At St. John’s Church, prominent figures such as Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai, Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg, and Amazon were spotted.
Notable attendees at the cathedral included media magnate Rupert Murdoch, FIFA president Gianni Infantino, and former UK prime minister Boris Johnson.
Several of these CEOs were outspoken in their opposition to Trump’s policies on climate change and immigration when he was in his first term in office.
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, was among the tech millionaires who joined Trump in the Capitol rotunda. Musk paused for a few seconds to admire the elaborate ceiling.
Musk has been loyal to the president ever since he spent over $300 million supporting his campaign.
Along with OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Uber’s Dara Khosrowshahi, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chou is also anticipated to attend the inauguration, despite the fact that his business is dealing with the effects of a US ban.
Just one day before Trump took office, TikTok expressed their gratitude to him for what they believed to be his part in getting the app back online for users in the US. Trump promised to restore access to TikTok in the US when he took office on Monday, adding that the US will seek a joint venture to bring back the app, which 170 million Americans use to share short videos. This came as the app was facing a ban in the US on Sunday.
This is a breathtaking show. A congressional hearing targeting these tech giants in 2020 was the last public event in Washington that brought together so many tech CEOs in one room.
Many companies are still dealing with major issues with the US government, such as probes, anti-monopoly cases, regulatory disputes, and tariffs.
The executives were accused of attempting to “cozy up to the incoming Trump administration in an effort to avoid scrutiny, limit regulation and buy favor” in a letter that was circulated last week by Democratic Senators Michael Bennett and Elizabeth Warren.
In response, Mr. Altman shared on social media, “Funny they never sent me one of these for contributing to Democrats.”
funny, they never sent me one of these for contributing to democrats… pic.twitter.com/xjpanXSb5D
— Sam Altman (@sama) January 17, 2025
It is unclear how far Trump will take many of these concerns and how long the tech bromance will last.
Despite this, the president seems to be enjoying his new role, despite having left government the previous time around as something of a pariah in the corporate sector.
“Everybody wants to be my friend!!!” he said to social media last month.
A number of Trump’s associates are unhappy about his developing relationships with tech executives.
Speaking on Sunday, Steve Bannon, who was chief strategist for Trump in the White House, referred to Musk as a “truly evil guy” and said that he would have Musk ‘run out of here by Inauguration Day.
“I look at this and I think most people in our movement look at this as President Trump broke the oligarchs, he broke them and they surrendered,” according to Bannon.
