The Trump-Vance inaugural committee is on track to set a record in inauguration fundraising, with pledged contributions surpassing its fundraising goal of $150 million as of Monday, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
The inaugural committee had roughly $70 million of that in the bank as of Monday, with the rest of the pledged contributions expected to arrive in the coming weeks as the committee prepares the festivities for President-elect Donald Trump’s second inauguration, sources said.
The anticipated haul not only nearly triples the $62 million that President Joe Biden’s inaugural committee raised in 2021, but also dwarfs the $107 million that Trump’s first inaugural committee raised in 2017 — which was a record-setting amount at the time.
The inaugural committee is planning three days of festivities and exclusive events for supporters and wealthy donors starting Jan. 18, including a “Make America Great Again Victory Rally,” a parade, a Sunday service, and exclusive receptions and candlelight dinners, according to donor packages obtained by ABC News.
Planners say the festivities will be “bigger than ever” — highlighting Trump’s status as only the second former president, after Grover Cleveland, to be reelected to a second nonconsecutive term.
“There is an absolute deluge of interest,” said one Republican fundraiser, telling ABC News that corporate interests in particular feel more comfortable and motivated to donate to Trump’s inaugural this time around.
In addition to longtime donors, there’s been heightened interest from younger donors and donors from the tech industry, the fundraiser said.
In recent days, several major tech firms have announced $1 million contributions to the inaugural committee, including Meta and Amazon, as well as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
Former President Donald Trump and Senator JD Vance, Republican vice-presidential nominee, stand together during a campaign event at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich., July 20, 2024.
Emily Elconin/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Meta — whose CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, recently met with Trump at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago estate — is donating to a presidential inaugural committee for the first time. Trump also said he recently met with Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and Apple CEO Tim Cook, and that he is scheduled to meet with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos this week.
A Republican lobbyist raising money for the inauguration told ABC News that the “Make America Great Again Victory Rally,” which will kick off the inaugural festivities on Jan. 18, will be a signature Trump-style event bringing together a massive crowd that “keeps him connected to his supporters.”
In addition to the victory rally, plans for the traditional inaugural events in the nation’s capital “are being enormously well received on the individual donor and corporation level,” the lobbyist said.
Other planned inaugural events include a “Cabinet Reception” that fundraising materials say will “recognize our most generous Inaugural supporters,” and a “Vice President’s Dinner” that’s described as “an intimate dinner with Vice President-elect JD Vance and Mrs. Usha Vance.”
As was the case for Trump’s 2016 inauguration, donors get different levels of access depending on their contribution tier, with supporters in the highest tier giving $1 million or raising $2 million. But this time around, the lowest tier is $50,000, which is double the lowest tier at Trump’s first inauguration.
The vice president’s dinner on Jan. 18 is open only to those who give at the highest tier, while admission to the “One America, One Light” Sunday service, featuring United States military bands and attendance by Trump and Melania Trump, are available to those who give at least $100,000 or raise at least $200,000.
Admission to a “Candlelight Dinner” that night, attended by Trump and Melania Trump, is limited to those who give at least $250,000 or raise at least $500,000.
Biden’s 2021 inauguration, which was scaled down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, used a similar fundraising approach, but the highest donor tier was $500,000 instead of $1 million.
Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, will include a parade down Pennsylvania Avenue following the swearing-in ceremony, and a black-tie “Starlight Ball” that evening. Tickets to the ball are available to big inaugural donors — although Trump is raising additional funds by offering small-dollar donors a chance to win admission to the event by making a contribution to a Trump fundraising entity that has raised money for the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee.
Some of Trump’s nominees for incoming cabinet positions — including treasury secretary pick Scott Bessent and commerce secretary pick Howard Lutnick — were among Trump’s $1 million donors to his 2017 inaugural committee.
That committee ended up being embroiled in multiple court battles, including a lawsuit brought by the D.C. attorney general claiming the committee overpaid for ballrooms at Trump’s Old Post Office hotel to enrich Trump and his family business.
The committee and the Trump Organization repaid $750,000 to settle the suit.
ABC News’ Selina Wang, Olivia Rubin and Katherine Faulders contributed to this report.