A host of tech billionaires and prominent figures from his inner circle joined President-elect Donald Trump as he began his inaugural celebrations, starting with a church service on Monday morning.
Among those present at St. John’s Church were Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Apple’s Tim Cook, and Google’s Sundar Pichai, all seated in prime positions.
Also spotted were media mogul Rupert Murdoch, FIFA president Gianni Infantino, and former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Many of these business leaders were vocal critics of Trump during his first term, particularly on issues like climate change and immigration.
Several tech titans, including SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, later joined Trump at the Capitol rotunda. Musk, who donated nearly $300 million to Trump’s campaign, was seen gazing at the ornate ceiling of the historic hall, signaling his close alignment with the president.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is also expected to attend the inauguration as his company navigates challenges from a U.S. ban. Other notable attendees include Sam Altman of OpenAI and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.
The gathering is a striking scene. The last event in Washington to unite so many tech leaders in one room was a 2020 congressional hearing scrutinizing their companies.
Today, many of these firms continue to face significant challenges with the U.S. government, including antitrust lawsuits, regulatory investigations, and tariff disputes.
Last week, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Michael Bennett, both Democrats, shared a letter addressed to the executives, which accused them of trying to “cozy up to the incoming Trump administration in an effort to avoid scrutiny, limit regulation and buy favor”.
“Funny they never sent me one of these for contributing to Democrats,” Mr Altman posted on social media in reply.
How enduring the tech bromance proves and how far Trump will push on many of these issues remain open questions.
But the president, who left office the first time as a kind of pariah in the business world, appears to be revelling in his new position.
As he wrote on social media last month: “Everybody wants to be my friend!!!”
Trump’s budding friendships with tech executives have not gone over well with everyone in his circle.
Former Trump White House chief strategist Steve Bannon on Sunday called Musk a “truly evil guy”, claiming he would have him “run out of here by Inauguration Day”.
“I look at this and I think most people in our movement look at this as President Trump broke the oligarchs, he broke them and they surrendered,” Bannon told ABC News.