Amazon to donate $1 million to Trump inauguration, matching Meta

(The Hill) -- E-commerce giant Amazon is planning to donate $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural fund, matching the amount Meta already donated to the incoming president’s inauguration. 

Amazon will be donating $1 million to Trump’s inauguration and also making a $1 million in-kind contribution as the company will stream the formal admission through Prime Video, multiple outlets reported on Thursday. 

Trump said on Thursday during his visit to the New York Stock Exchange that he will meet with Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos next week. 

“Jeff Bezos is coming up next week,” Trump said. 

Bezos joins a cadre of other tech executives looking to forge a closer relationship with Trump following his victory in the 2024 presidential election. 

Despite The Washington Post’s editorial board having drafted an endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris, the newspaper did not formally endorse a candidate in the White House contest following Bezos’s decision to nix endorsements at the paper.

Bezos congratulated Trump on his 2024 presidential race victory on social media. He did not do the same when President Joe Biden won the contest in 2020. 

“Big congratulations to our 45th and now 47th President on an extraordinary political comeback and decisive victory,” Bezos wrote. “No nation has bigger opportunities. Wishing [Trump] all success in leading and uniting the America we all love.”

During his first term in the White House, Trump went after Amazon and The Post. The E-commerce behemoth argued in court in 2019 that it was not picked for a Pentagon contract due to Bezos’s past criticism of Trump. 

In late October, Trump met with leaders of aerospace company Blue Origin, which is owned by Bezos. Trump had a meeting with CEO David Limp and vice president of government relations Megan Mitchell while campaigning in Texas. 

Amazon’s planned donation comes after Meta donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund, the company told The Hill. The contribution came just weeks after CEO Mark Zuckerberg met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. 

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