Corporate donations for President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration celebration continue to pour in, with Ford being the latest to contribute a seven-figure sum, signaling its intent to build goodwill with the incoming administration. According to The Western Journal, both Ford and General Motors have made standalone $1 million donations to Trump’s inauguration fund. These contributions match those of other major U.S. corporations, including Facebook, OpenAI, and Amazon, which each donated $1 million.
Other prominent companies, such as Goldman Sachs, Robinhood, and Uber, have also contributed sizable, though smaller, amounts. In addition to their financial support, Ford and General Motors will supply fleets of vehicles for Trump’s traveling detail on January 20, 2025, Inauguration Day, the report said.
This isn’t the first time that domestic car manufacturers have supported Trump. In 2017, Ford donated $250,000 for Trump’s first inauguration, while GM contributed $500,000, according to OpenSecrets. Their latest contributions may indicate that executives are seeking to gain Trump’s attention regarding changes to federal priorities around electric vehicle subsidies and domestic manufacturing. “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,” Politico previously reported.
A wave of business leaders has made their way to Mar-a-Lago for private meetings with Trump, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, or have rushed to connect with him during his post-election appearances. When the president-elect rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange earlier this month, senior executives from Visa, Meta Platforms, Goldman Sachs, Charles Schwab, and Citadel were in attendance, according to The Wall Street Journal. Many of these leaders are looking to align with the populist president-elect on key issues such as tax reform and regulatory changes. Others likely are vying for positions on the numerous business advisory boards the White House plans to establish for guidance in the coming year.
Ford CEO Jim Farley expressed his hope this month that Trump will heed the concerns of him and other industry leaders. They fear that Trump’s long-promised removal of subsidies for electric vehicles could disrupt an industry that is still recovering from years of supply chain issues caused by the pandemic. “(Given) Ford’s employment profile and importance in the U.S. economy and manufacturing, you can imagine the administration will be very interested in Ford’s point of view,” Farley said, Reuters reported.
President Joe Biden faced significant criticism from the automotive industry early in his administration after imposing stricter mandates on the production of electric vehicles (EVs). These measures prompted work stoppages, as left-leaning unions expressed concerns that the new mandates could lead to the closure of plants reliant on manufacturing traditional gas-powered vehicles. Trump made several attempts to secure the endorsement of the United Auto Workers (UAW), the industry’s largest union, but its leadership ultimately chose to back Biden — though it is suspected that many, if not most, rank-and-file UAW members backed Trump like a majority of Teamsters members did.
