Ford to donate $1M, fleet of vehicles to Trump inauguration

Ford Motor Company said it will donate $1 million and a small fleet of vehicles for use in President-elect Trump’s inauguration, multiple outlets reported Monday. Ford joins a recent wave of major tech companies that have pledged hefty donations to the incoming president’s inaugural fund. While inaugural donations from companies are not new, the flood...

Dec 24, 2024 - 04:00
Ford to donate $1M, fleet of vehicles to Trump inauguration

Ford Motor Company said it will donate $1 million and a small fleet of vehicles for use in President-elect Trump’s inauguration, multiple outlets reported Monday.

Ford joins a recent wave of major tech companies that have pledged hefty donations to the incoming president’s inaugural fund.

While inaugural donations from companies are not new, the flood of cash — coupled with meetings with Trump at his Florida residence — signal a shift among companies looking to curry favor with the president as he prepares to take office.

Meta and Amazon each dished out $1 million donations to Trump’s inaugural fund last week, followed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who said he would give the same amount from his personal wealth.  

The move marked a shift for Altman, who has repeatedly donated to Democratic candidates since 2013.  

While Amazon has contributed to the past two administrations’ inaugural funds, this year’s contribution largely outnumbered the $276,000 it chipped into President Biden’s 2021 inaugural committee.  

In 2017, the e-commerce giant dished out even less — about $57,000 — to Trump’s first inauguration fund, according to campaign finance records.  

The Hill has reached out to Trump’s team and Ford for comment.