Access to President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance at the Jan. 20 inauguration will come at a historic cost.
Donors hoping to buy a chance to meet with Trump and Vance at a handful of exclusive events will have to cough up $1 million, per an inaugural committee fundraising document obtained by The Guardian.
A seven-figure pledge grants access to a pair of intimate dinners with the VP-elect and the president-elect days before they take their oaths of office. A “candlelight dinner” with Trump and an intimate experience with JD and Usha Vance are the most sought-after events.
Such access is twice as expensive as it was during Trump’s first inauguration, when $500,000 would have secured a benefactor dinner with Trump and his former running mate, Mike Pence.
The high price tag hasn’t discouraged deep-pocketed business leaders from seeking to buy access. Trump’s second inaugural fund has raised almost $200 million, nearly double the record-breaking sum Trump brought in for his first inauguration.
Guest lists for some inaugural events are full already, even for the richest Trump backers, The New York Times reported earlier this month. Seven-figure donors are reportedly being told they can’t secure VIP passes for the most intimate experiences due to what the Times described as “extraordinary demand.”
Though the business world is always eager to chip into inaugural festivities, hoping to earn goodwill with an upcoming administration, this year’s has set a new bar. Major companies, even ones without a history of such donations, have put up massive sums. Apple, Meta, Amazon, Ford and others have given the fund at least $1 million each.
Trump’s seemingly pay-to-play system for White House access attracted scrutiny during his first term, but guardrails on the extent of presidential power and the lines of ethics rules have since weakened. The hefty inaugural rates may be an indication of the cost of doing business with his administration.
