this post was submitted on 26 Dec 2024
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A new report from Rolling Stone claims that President-elect Donald Trump is "keeping tabs" on major corporations that have not yet forked out big bucks for his inauguration fund.

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[–] RagingRobot@lemmy.world 21 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I have never heard of a president's inaugural team being funded by corporations and bribes but this year they are making out like it's the most normal thing. Was this always happening and I just missed it or are we normalizing bribery now like it's no big deal?

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 12 points 1 day ago (2 children)

It's actually normal.

https://www.opensecrets.org/obama/inaug_2009.php

This is not:

"In the past few weeks, Trump has at times asked close allies about how much major corporations have donated to the inaugural committee, and has sometimes inquired about specific companies by name," the publication writes. "Earlier this month, when the president-elect asked about one big-name corporation and was told it hadn’t donated, Trump replied, 'Well, they better do it soon then.'"

[–] HK65@sopuli.xyz 3 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Yeah, that's the difference between corporate oligarchies and straight up fascist states that a lot of wealthy people don't get.

Bribes become tithes, they no longer own the government, the government owns them.

[–] Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 2 points 15 hours ago

It will be funny when they learn the hard way when they eventually get stripped of their wealth.

[–] underwire212@lemm.ee 9 points 21 hours ago

The fact that it’s normal is so fucking disgusting. Who is the government serving? Not us. That’s for damn sure

[–] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 48 points 1 day ago (1 children)

So it's a protection racket.

[–] Kichae@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 day ago

It's all he's ever known.

[–] MiDaBa@lemmy.ml 14 points 1 day ago

The fact that every single donation is exactly one million dollars says they all received the same message about how much was expected.

[–] DarkFuture@lemmy.world 55 points 1 day ago (4 children)

Americans explicitly voted for corruption. There was no confusion on the matter. He has a rap sheet that spans an entire lifetime proving he's corrupt. And the majority of voting Americans chose him anyway.

There should be no shock factor here. America wanted this. Americans are stupid.

[–] Soulg@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 day ago (2 children)

The majority of votes were for not Trump.

More people of voting age didn't vote at all than voted for any one candidate.

The system is broken but nobody wants to fix it

[–] nonentity@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)

My take is anyone who can vote but doesn’t is implicitly throwing their support behind whoever eventually wins. On 2024-11-05, the majority of Americans chose to not be taken seriously by the rest of the world.

I’m not an American.

[–] Infinite@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

As an American, non-voters can suck a butt. They're effectively giving their proxy vote to everyone else, so they have no right to complain or engage in discussion.

I'm sorry for you other Earthicans who have to share the ball with my country. We're stupid because we let ourselves be deregulated, gerrymandered, propagandized, and lied to, and can't collectively ask for it to stop.

[–] BrainInABox@lemmy.ml -1 points 16 hours ago

As a non American, anyone who willingly votes for genocide is a Fascist.

[–] DarkFuture@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

The majority of votes were for not Trump.

The majority of votes for a candidate that could actually win were for Donald Trump.

More people of voting age didn’t vote at all than voted for any one candidate.

I specifically said the majority of VOTING Americans voted for Trump. Which is true, if you're taking into account the only two candidates that mattered.

If you were of voting age and you didn't vote, you don't matter. If you were of voting age and voted 3rd party....well, I have an opinion of you that I won't share here. But suffice to say, if you voted 3rd party, you may not have technically voted for Trump, but you still made his presidency happen.

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[–] plz1@lemmy.world 23 points 1 day ago (3 children)

WTF is an "inauguration fund" paying for int he first place? He can't legally run for President again, and if it's a political fund, he'd have to use it for political purposes or donate it to the party or something. Of course he could donate $30M to the party and they could just buy 3M copies of some book he profits from, you know, how they typically launder campaign funds to themselves...

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Here's Obama's:

https://www.opensecrets.org/obama/inaug_2009.php

NOTE:

The government places no limits on these contributions, but Obama capped money for his inauguration at $50,000 per person - still, more than 10 times what individuals could give to his campaign. Contributions from corporations, labor unions, political action committees and registered lobbyists were not accepted. Donors at the $50,000 level reportedly got tickets to the official ceremony, the parade and inaugural balls. The Inaugural Committee voluntarily disclosed its donors as it raised the money but had to report its fundraising to the government following the inauguration.

[–] plz1@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

But what is the money allowed to be spent on?

[–] underwire212@lemm.ee 2 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago)

It’s used literally to celebrate the new presidency. Fucking disgusting and there’s no WAY this money gets used properly.

——

Inauguration fund money, which is typically raised by a presidential inaugural committee (PIC) in the United States, is generally used to finance activities and events related to the celebration of a new president’s inauguration. However, the allowable uses for this money depend on legal, ethical, and organizational guidelines. Here’s how it is typically spent:

Permitted Uses

1. Official Inaugural Events:

• Planning and hosting inaugural balls, parades, and concerts.

• Covering the costs of ceremonies like the swearing-in and related staging, security, and logistics.

2. Event Operations:

• Venue rentals, permits, and equipment.

• Hiring vendors for catering, audiovisual production, decorations, and transportation.

3. Public Outreach:

• Advertising and public communications for inaugural events.

• Developing and distributing tickets or invitations to events.

4. Staff and Administration:

• Salaries for committee staff and consultants involved in planning the events.

• Office space, supplies, and administrative costs for managing the fund.

5. Charitable Donations (Optional):

• Some inaugural committees choose to donate surplus funds to charities or civic organizations, though this is not mandatory.

Restrictions and Rules

1. Non-Campaign Use:

• Funds cannot be used to finance political campaigns or unrelated political activities.

2. Personal Enrichment:

• Funds cannot be used for personal expenses of the president, their family, or committee members.

3. Transparency:

• Committees are typically required to disclose donors and expenditures in accordance with federal or state law.

4. Prohibition on Federal Funds:

• Public funds cannot be mixed with the inauguration fund.

In some cases, misuse of inauguration funds has led to legal scrutiny or allegations of impropriety, so proper accounting and adherence to legal guidelines are critical.

[–] renrenPDX@lemm.ee 5 points 1 day ago

It’s the same grift he ran last time he won. He literally campaigned for president for another 4 years after winning.

[–] affiliate@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

it’s clearly so that he can have the biggest and bestest inauguration party ever. given the record setting attendance his last inauguration got, he’ll probably spare no expense to have a great event with catering and lots of well paid, properly licensed musicians.

[–] Xatolos@reddthat.com 23 points 1 day ago

Trump isn't even hiding that America is for sale...

[–] TheReturnOfPEB@reddthat.com 86 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

A nationalized shake-down is somehow being couched as inauguration donations.

[–] MapleEngineer@lemmy.world 105 points 1 day ago (4 children)

Last time he tried to hide it. This time he is being completely open about the fact that he is for sale because he believes that he is untouchable.

[–] BestBouclettes@jlai.lu 66 points 1 day ago (1 children)

He doesn't have to believe he is untouchable, he's been proven untouchable over and over again, no matter what he did

[–] MapleEngineer@lemmy.world 22 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

Yup. In the quest to not to appear politically biased the DOJ allowed US democracy to slip away.

[–] BrainInABox@lemmy.ml -1 points 16 hours ago

"US Democracy" is bipartisan genocide support. It's not great loss

[–] Agrivar@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

the wheat to not ajar

that's some interesting autocorrect fail, I hope!

[–] MapleEngineer@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

Ducking autocucumber!

[–] RamblingPanda@lemmynsfw.com 46 points 1 day ago

Believes? He gets away with shit that would get anyone else into jail.

[–] Rentlar@lemmy.ca 19 points 1 day ago (1 children)

This comment works for basically aany Trump headline now.

[–] MapleEngineer@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

Apparently!

[–] nova_ad_vitum@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 day ago (2 children)

He's untouchable because American voters don't care about any of this.

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[–] peoplebeproblems@midwest.social 35 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Ok, so, I'm starting to be convinced that Trump does infact know the history of the Nazi rise to power, and instead of saying "maybe we shouldn't do that" he's thinking "I can do it better."

We need to get him significantly more McDonald's.

[–] Raiderkev@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The guy who slept with Mein Kampf at the bedside?

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

It was not Mein Kampf. It was a book of Hitler speeches.

Even more damning, some said they had never seen a book in his penthouse. Except that one.

[–] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

infact

It's okay to leave the space in there when you're going for English.

No

English isn't a language it's a mistake

My autocorrect did it too. These days I'm too lazy to fight it. I figure it knows better than me anyway, only the past 8 generations of my family have been in the country.

Plus I didn't major it it I did something practical with my life. Fuck the only langage I can speak

[–] ReallyActuallyFrankenstein@lemmynsfw.com 56 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

This is so transparently just a symbol of submission to oligarchy and/or fascism because there is absolutely no need for these donations. What exactly is this money buying? Kid Rock encore performances? Nope, the only purpose of these "inauguration" donations is to be a ledger on which he keeps tabs.

[–] 4grams@lemmy.world 26 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I keep saying it, these “donations” are and dictator of what’s to come. The money structure knows that we’re entering an era that will be defined by bribery and grift. At this point they are merely preparing for the coming trump dictatorship, they know they will need favor with ol’ donny goodbrains and his authoritarian clown show.

[–] Nougat@fedia.io 10 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] 4grams@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

lol, apparently autocorrect sees the same truths we do :).

[–] Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 34 points 1 day ago (2 children)
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[–] psycho_driver@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago
[–] x00z@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago (2 children)
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[–] Saledovil@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 day ago

A clever stratagem of President Elon Musk to make use of his trained monkey.

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