Amazon is planning to donate US$1 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, a person familiar with the matter told CNN. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is expected to visit with Trump in person in the coming days, as he and other tech founders seek closer relationships with the incoming president.
Bezos and Trump spoke over the summer after the first assassination attempt. Bezos publicly praised Trump at the time.
“Our former President showed tremendous grace and courage under literal fire tonight,” Bezos wrote on X at the time.
Trump has been warming up to tech giants. He has flaunted his private conversations with them in interviews and appearances and now heaps praise on companies he once blamed in part for his 2020 electoral defeat.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the planned donation.
Bezos joins other tech leaders in looking to foster a closer relationship with the president-elect.
Meta confirmed Wednesday that it donated $1 million to the inaugural fund, two weeks after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg met with Trump privately at Mar-a-Lago. It’s a major shift from the company’s previous approach to Trump nearly four years ago, when it banned him from its platforms after the January 6, 2021, insurrection.
CNN’s Elisabeth Buchwald contributed to this report.
