Corporate America shelled out millions for Trump’s inauguration. Now he’s upending many

America’s richest and most powerful companies shelled out millions to fund President Donald Trump‘s inauguration festivities.

Three months later, some may be asking whether the famously transactional president has their backs. Many of those corporations have had their businesses roiled by Trump’s tariff policy and resulting consumer caution, dampening the optimism much of the business and finance community felt when he was elected again.

Some of the nation’s largest companies, including General Motors, BlackRock and Meta, donated to Trump’s inaugural committee, leading it to raise a record $239 million – more than the previous three inaugural committees took in combined, according to filings released Sunday.

Presidential inaugural committees are set up as charitable organizations, and the money they raise has traditionally funded parades and galas around the president’s formal swearing in. Unlike presidential election campaigns, there is no set limit on how much a corporation or U.S. citizen can give to an inaugural committee. (President Joe Biden did not have traditional inaugural events in 2021 due to the Covid pandemic).

This makes inaugural donations an early opportunity for companies to publicly show support for the incoming president. And in Trump’s case especially, to ensure that the company has a seat at the table as policy decisions are being made.

Inaugural committees must disclose their donors, but they are not required to disclose how they spend the money. After raising hundreds of millions of dollars more than it costs to put on three balls and an indoor parade, the Trump inaugural committee is expected to put the rest toward Trump’s eventual presidential library.

Some of this year’s donors, like Target, McDonald’s and Delta Air Lines, hadn’t contributed to an inaugural committee in more than a decade. Others including Pfizer, Walmart and Visa were regular contributors, as they donated the same amounts in 2025 that they did in 2021 and 2017. 

What just about every donor had in common was they wrote their checks at a time when the business community was still riding high on the president’s victory. Consumer confidence was surging, Trump had promised tax cuts were coming and triple-digit tariffs on critical trading partner China weren’t part of the conversation.

But in the weeks and months since, many of those same corporations have seen their businesses upended by Trump’s economic policies, which have centered on tariffs that economists from across the ideological spectrum have warned could raise costs for consumers and tip the economy into a recession.

Banks that were expecting a resurgence in IPOs and deals are instead contending with skittish capital markets. Some airlines that were excited about deregulation and a government that would be friendlier to businesses are now slashing their guidance, saying consumers won’t travel when they’re uncertain about the future of their wallets. 

“The expectation was because the last administration was very, very difficult for business, very, very difficult to engage and to communicate broadly across all industries, the expectation was that this would be improved,” Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said Tuesday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” There are certain things that have been put forward from a policy perspective that, you know, that don’t feel in line with the expectation people had.” 

While Trump and key administration officials have given signals they could soon reduce the tariffs on Chinese imports, sending stock markets higher, there’s no guarantee they will strike a deal to do so.

Companies mentioned in this report either did not respond to requests for comment, declined to comment or highlighted their past support for inaugurations for both political parties or policies they consider good for business.

Beyond corporations, many of the individuals who contributed to Trump’s inauguration are now working closely with the White House or shaping policy. 

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, donated $1 million to the inauguration. He is now working on the Stargate Project, a collaboration between OpenAI and the government to build artificial intelligence infrastructure in the U.S.  

Jared Isaacman, Trump’s nominee for NASA administrator, donated $2 million to the inauguration. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gave $250,000. 

Here’s a closer look at the ways various industries contributed to Trump’s inauguration and how those businesses are faring three months into his administration. 

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was eager to get into the president’s good graces after his platform kicked Trump off in the wake of the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. Trump later gave the company founder the nickname “Zuckerschmuck,” and he routinely called Facebook an “enemy of the people.”

Amazon founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos was another frequent Trump target, largely due to his ownership of The Washington Post, and he too has rushed to appease the president this time around.

Meta and Amazon each donated $1 million to the inaugural fund, as did Google and Apple CEO Tim Cook. Microsoft and Adobe kicked in the same amount. So did AI infrastructure players Nvidia and Broadcom. Uber did the same.

Across the industry, companies were hopeful that a second Trump administration would lighten up on regulations following a burdensome era under Biden, when initial public offerings ground to a halt and big merger efforts were quashed.

The industry is now getting hammered by Wall Street on concern that a combination of higher import costs and reduced business spending will dramatically shrink profit margins. For Meta and Google, the primary issue is the potential for advertising budgets to dwindle, but there are other challenges that permeate the entire industry.

The tech giants have been loading up on Nvidia chips and other hardware to build out their infrastructure for the AI boom. Those products are all subject to various tariffs, particularly goods coming from China and Taiwan. While Trump said there will be an exemption for phones, computers and chips, the administration later indicated that there would be separate tariffs for those products.

And when it comes to regulations, Google and Meta are currently in court for antitrust cases. Trump’s Federal Trade Commission on Monday filed suit against Uber, accusing the ride-hailing and delivery company of deceptive billing and cancellation practices tied to its subscription service.

— Ari Levy

With a $5 million donation, poultry giant Pilgrim’s Pride was the top contributor to Trump’s inaugural fund. Brazilian meat giant JBS, Pilgrim’s largest stakeholder, is awaiting approval to go public through a dual U.S.-Brazil listing as it faces opposition from environmentalists, U.S. beef producers and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle.

More broadly, the meat industry has been pushing Trump to roll back regulations, which his administration did during his first term.

Beyond big meat, McDonald’s gave to the presidential inauguration for the first time in more than a decade with its $1 million donation. While the fast-food chain is one of Trump’s favorite caterers, McDonald’s could face scrutiny from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has pledged to “Make America Healthy Again.” Kennedy has started by taking aim at artificial food dyes, but fast food could be on the list; he recently praised Steak ‘n Shake for using beef tallow to cook its fries.

The uncertainty of tariffs and growing recession fears could also weigh on McDonald’s sales, if consumers cut back on their Big Macs and McNuggets. Over the last year, the company has already seen U.S. sales struggle as diners cut back on eating out. 

Fat Brands, which owns Fatburger, Johnny Rockets and more than a dozen other restaurant chains, donated $100,000 to the inaugural fund. Last year, the company and its chair, Andy Wiederhorn, were indicted over what prosecutors called a “sham” loan scheme that netted him $47 million, allegations he and the company deny. 

Trump reportedly personally fired the assistant U.S. attorney leading the case against Fat Brands and Wiederhorn in March. However, Justice Department officials in California told The Oregonian that the prosecution will continue.

On the beverage side, spirits giant Diageo chipped in $125,000 in in-kind donations of beverages. While the Johnnie Walker and Don Julio owner is facing higher tariffs for some of its brands, its Mexican tequila and Canadian whisky are exempt because of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.

Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, both regular contributors to presidential inauguration funds, wrote checks this year as well. Both beverage companies are under fire by Kennedy’s MAHA agenda, which is pushing states to seek bans on using federal food assistance to buy soda and junk food. The American Beverage Association, a trade group that counts Keurig Dr Pepper among its members, also chipped in $250,000.

— Amelia Lucas 

That could be why both the National Retail Federation, the industry’s lobbying arm, and big-box giant Target contributed to the inauguration committee for the first time in at least a decade. 

The NRF gave $250,000 to the fund, while Target wrote a check for $1 million.

Since Trump was elected, and even before, the NRF has been sounding the alarm about the impact tariffs will have on consumers and its retail members, calling the duties a tax on American families. 

Target is more exposed to tariffs than its longtime rival, Walmart, because more of its sales come from discretionary goods like clothes and home goods that tend to be manufactured overseas. The discounter’s annual sales have been roughly flat for four years in a row and last month, Target said it expects sales to grow only 1% for this fiscal year.

Target has also felt the heat from conservative groups in recent years, and from shoppers and potential customers who have shown support for the administration and its policies. Earlier this year, Target rolled back its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts soon after Trump vowed to dismantle every DEI initiative across the federal government. 

The retail industry has lobbied the Trump administration to take a common sense approach to tariffs and stressed it will be difficult, if not impossible, to move some…