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275 points belter | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0s | source
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rchaud ◴[] No.43581873[source]
Apple CEO Tim Cook made a personal $1 million "donation" to the Trump inauguration in January 2025:

> Cook, a proud Alabama native, believes the inauguration is a great American tradition, and is donating to the inauguration in the spirit of unity, the sources said.

https://www.axios.com/2025/01/03/tim-cook-apple-donate-1-mil...

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dimal ◴[] No.43585798[source]
Amazon and Meta did too. Then Bezos changed the Washington Post editorial page policy that they could only write about personal liberties and free markets (subtext: not Trump). I wonder what Meta got in return. It seems like this relatively cheap $1M payoff was a subtle “kiss the ring” of the emperor. Good business. Shareholders would approve.
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1. pseudalopex ◴[] No.43586491[source]
> I wonder what Meta got in return.

Trump dropped his lawsuit against Meta for suspending him after the insurrection.[1] They want to avoid an antitrust trial.[2] They want Trump to pressure the EU into allowing surveillance capitalism.[3] They want influence in negotiations over Section 230.[4]

[1] https://apnews.com/article/trump-meta-settlement-zuckerberg-...

[2] https://www.reuters.com/world/us/meta-ceo-zuckerberg-lobbies...

[3] https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-polit...

[4] https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/section_230_bipartisan_b...