Technology companies including Amazon, Google and Microsoft donated considerable amounts of both cash and technical services for the ceremonies and events around the inauguration and swearing in of President Donald Trump, according to reports making the internet rounds on Tuesday night.
The donations were made before the current heated battle over the racist #MuslimBan, which many in Silicon Valley are opposed to.
Politico broke the news, citing federal documents and multiple anonymous sources familiar with the matter.
Microsoft contributed $250,000 in cash and the same amount in technology and other tools on Dec. 28 to the Presidential Inaugural Committee, federal ethics records filed last week show. The company declined to comment on its participation.
Google also provided tech services, including a YouTube livestream of the inauguration, on top of an unspecified cash donation, two sources familiar with the matter told POLITICO. Amazon similarly chipped in an undisclosed amount of money in addition to tech aid, sources said.
Google declined to comment for this story, and Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.
Some tech giants haven’t yet disclosed the total value of their contributions, which may be because they were made after the Dec. 31 cutoff date for the most recent round of lobbying reports. The inaugural committee does not have to report its fundraising activities until 90 days after the event.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump sits with PayPal co-founder and Facebook board member Peter Thiel, Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook, Oracle CEO Safra Catz and Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk during a meeting with technology leaders at Trump Tower in New York U.S., December 14, 2016. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton – RTX2V2DE
It’s true that there’s much opposition in Silicon Valley to Trump’s “Muslim Ban” and the broader spectrum of attacks on free and open government.
But as the New York Times noted separately today, the tech resistance isn’t coming from the top. Engineers and grunts, not CEOs, are the ones using the #resist hashtag.
Never forget that.
(L-R) Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Larry Page, CEO and Co-founder of Alphabet, sit during a meeting with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and technology leaders at Trump Tower in New York, U.S., December 14, 2016. REUTERS