Corruption at its core

'Corruption at its core': Alphabet, Meta help pay for Trump's White House ballroom

By Lester Black

The already cozy relationship between the Bay Area’s major tech companies and President Donald Trump has taken a step even closer, after some of the largest firms committed to donating money for a new White House ballroom. 

Meta, Google, Apple, HP and Ripple were all on a list released Thursday evening of donors to Trump’s $300 million ballroom, according to the New York Times. The donors also include big tobacco company Altria Group, Amazon, Coinbase, and crypto investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. 

Crews began demolishing the entire East Wing of the White House this week to make room for the ornate new ballroom. Critics of the plan have accused the president of soliciting bribes to pay for the project. 

“So the People’s House is basically being sold to the highest bidder. It is corruption at its core,” said former White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on the talk show “The View.”

Trump has described the ballroom as being a 90,000-square-foot building with room to fit nearly 1,000 guests. If built as envisioned, the president’s new hall would be larger than the entire current White House. Trump officials have said the ballroom will be completed before the end of his term in January 2029.

The donor list released by the White House did not specify how much each company was contributing to the project, although court filings by Alphabet, the parent company of Google, indicate that the company is sending $22 million for the project. Alphabet is paying the money as part of a settlement made with Trump after he sued the company for suspending his YouTube channel for two years after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, according to Business Insider. 

Alphabet executives agreed to the deal after CEO Sundar Pichai joined Trump on his Mar-a-Lago golf course, following him in golf carts while he played a few holes, according to the Wall Street Journal. Legal experts the outlet spoke to said Trump had a thin case against YouTube and would be unlikely to win in court because private companies are generally allowed to deny access to their platforms.

The planned White House ballroom is only the latest cash-infused matter that government ethics experts have described as potential corruption or bribery. Trump accepted a $400 million luxury jet from Qatar that appeared to violate the Constitution’s clause against receiving foreign gifts. Trump’s companies are building over 20 overseas projects, which could be affected by his role as president. And Trump’s companies have launched multiple cryptocurrencies that have allowed anyone to invest directly in the president’s business, which has increased his net worth by billions. Abu Dhabi invested $2 billion in one of Trump’s coins around the same time Trump released highly coveted computer chips to the United Arab Emirates.