Business is big on many fronts for President Donald Trump as he was sworn in for his second term today in Washington, D.C. (His meme coin $TRUMP hit nearly $11 billion in market value since its launch on Friday.)
Trump took his oath of office inside the U.S. Capitol Rotunda rather than outside the West Front of the Capitol due to the frigid weather (it’s currently 27 degrees Fahrenheit in the nation’s capital). Ronald Reagan made the same decision in 1985.
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An inside source told NPR the Capitol Rotunda can only fit around 750 people, which made who was present even more meaningful. And the tech CEOs had prime spots, while other notable politicians, like Florida Gov. Ron Desantis, for example, watched from the overflow room, according to Business Insider.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos were seated in front of Trump’s defense secretary pick, Pete Hegseth.
According to the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC), the inaugural platform is typically reserved for the current president and vice president and their families; the president-elect and vice president-elect and their families; members of the Supreme Court and other high-ranking officials.
Despite the square footage challenges, a cavalcade of business leaders, like Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, were in attendance at the swearing-in ceremony, reports Fox Business.
Related: Donald and Melania Trump Launch Meme Coins
Other noted tech titans on the exclusive guest list included Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai.
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TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew also attended.
In a column for Time, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Steven Tian write: “These business leaders are rushing to meet Trump now, as they would any President and Americans of all political inclinations should cheer them on, because their engagement is vitally needed for the benefit of our nation and for our economy, both in terms of making the most of potential opportunities as well as avoiding potential pitfalls.”
