Billions of people are waiting for the inauguration of Donald Trump

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Days after Donald Trump took office in 2017, Google co-founder Sergey Brin joined the protests against the new immigration policies, warning that they threaten “fundamental values”. of the US.

On Monday, he joined more than a dozen billionaires in key positions at Trump’s second inauguration, cheering on the man who has pledged to deport millions of immigrants, using the brand of American justice to pursue political opponents and initiate large-scale tariffs.

of Trump installation ceremony In the US Capitol it highlighted the president’s deep ties to industry elites and the changing ranks of business leaders who had previously sneered at him. Four of the five richest men in the world were ranked higher than members of his cabinet, and some of their allies sat in office at the expense of governors and members of congress.

Elon Muskformer Joe Biden supporter who spent a quarter of a billion to get Trump nominee, was joined on the crowded stage by Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, who this month ended fact-checking on his social media platform in a bid to make peace with Trump, and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, who suspended the editorial board of his newspaper in support of Kamala Harris.

Meters away were Europe’s richest man Bernard Arnault, the head of luxury goods empire LVMH, India’s Mukesh Ambani, and Apple chief executive Tim Cook, who as executives some tech giants, who gave $1mn to Trump before the trial. They joined cabinet nominees who are billionaires themselves, including commerce secretary-elect Howard Lutnick and Treasury nominee Scott Bessent.

“The man is the power,” Trump’s Lutnick said in a speech Monday at Capital One Stadium, where the president’s supporters had gathered to watch his inauguration. “You are strong.”

Lutnick was followed by Musk, who drew thunderous applause when he promised to help Trump usher in a “golden age”.

As a sign of Musk’s growing power and influence, the crowd also cheered the billionaire’s talk about Trump’s commitment to send astronauts to Mars – a move that would benefit Musk’s SpaceX, and ‘ has been considered wasteful and unnecessary by scientists within the US government.

Such displays of business power were criticized by some Trump members ‘Maga’ support base. Steve Bannon, Trump’s former top strategist, attacked Musk and the tech giants in the president’s path this week, echoing Biden in calling them “oligarchs” and saying they are “created by the Democratic Party and the lords of easy money”.

Democrats were also quick to use the spectacle of the inauguration to undermine Trump’s credentials, with the Democratic National Committee saying it would “leave his supporters out in the cold when they are worth billions of dollars.” over $1tn get a front seat” president. he indicated that he would always “align himself with his supporters who are much richer than the American people”.

Inside the Capitol One Arena on Monday, where Trump supporters gathered to watch the inauguration after it was moved indoors, the presence of a billion people – seen by many Maga loyalists as appellants, not cartoonists – was widely accepted.

Minnesota farmer Cherry Fiedler said she hopes the tech billionaire’s popularity means “all information will be gone”, and predicted that diversity, equity and inclusion policies will also be repealed. in the world’s largest companies after Trump’s victory.

“Many of those businessmen were . . . against Trump,” Paul Kirby, a Missouri journalist who was in Washington for the event, added. “All those leaders are on their knees . . . (Trump) is in control, he’s taken back the power.”