Our new overlords descend on Washington

In his farewell address to the nation on Wednesday evening, President Biden warned Americans of a new threat. “Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power, and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead.”

Biden’s warning was not hyperbole. Today, Washington prepares to welcome a new merging of MAGA and corporate overlords who are eager to steer the machinery of the federal government toward their own bank accounts. The pomp and circumstance of this weekend’s festivities has been heavily funded by Big Tech companies and business leaders who have historically been friendly to Democrats and progressive causes. 

A few of the tech industry donors giving at least $1 million to the Trump inaugural committee include: Tim Cook, Dara Khosrowshahi, Sam Altman, Google, Uber, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, Robinhood, and Coinbase.

In fact, Trump’s inaugural committee received so many donations that it ran out of benefits to give donors and some began giving elsewhere - including to Trump’s future presidential library, affiliated PACs, and political operation. 

During Monday’s inauguration ceremony, there will be more billionaires on the West Front of the Capitol than at any other inauguration in our nation’s history. By my count, at least 19. Trump has chosen 13 billionaires for roles in his administration, and various news outlets have reported that the incoming president will be joined on stage by Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, Elon Musk, and Shou Chew.

I can’t speak to those men’s motivations for displaying their MAGA support so openly, but one has to assume it is both to ingratiate themselves with the government bureaucrats they view as business assets, and partly to display themselves at the pinnacle of American power. At least one of them will be groveling more than the others: Shou Chew, who is spending his time meeting with any politician who will hear his case in order to prevent a shutdown of his company’s app in the United States. He will even be attending President Trump’s “Victory Rally” on Sunday.

Aside from Monday’s ceremony, the weekend is shaping up to be quite a scene.

On Thursday, The New York Times published an article about a “euphoric tech industry ready to celebrate Trump and itself.” Mark Zuckerberg, fresh off of a MAGA coming-out tour, is hosting an inaugural ball with GOP megadonor Miriam Adelson. TikTok is throwing down $50,000 to sponsor a party. Spotify, a company generally respected by young progressive users, is hosting a weekend bash featuring Joe Rogan, Megyn Kelly, and Ben Shapiro. There’s also apparently a sold-out “Crypto Ball” happening, headlined by Snoop Dogg. Liberals are fleeing town in droves.

This weekend’s open celebration of American plutocracy is coming at a strange time in our society. Just last month, millions of Americans cheered, memed, and joked about the assassination of a health insurance executive because they perceived his company’s business model to be immoral. People are literally selling votive candles with the CEO’s assassin’s face on them, dressed as a saint.

It's unclear if some of the newly MAGA-fied business leaders are self-aware enough to read the room or recognize their own unpopularity with the American public. For years, Mark Zuckerberg has been viewed unfavorably by a majority of Americans. Jeff Bezos is underwater in public polling as well, and Elon Musk has seen higher disapproval ratings since his takeover of Twitter and conservative political transformation. A 2021 CNN poll showed that three in four Americans thought Facebook was making society worse, and a Pew survey from last year showed that nearly eight in ten Americans think these tech companies have too much power and influence on our politics.

Dan Pfeiffer, writing in Message Box last week, smartly advised Democrats to seize the opportunity that this moment presents: 

“The axis of politics is no longer Left/Right; it’s inside/outside. Trump is misreading the electoral results and surrounding himself with elite institutions and individuals who he ran against.” Pfeiffer wrote. “…If Trump wants to be pro-corporation and pro-billionaire, Democrats can — and must — position themselves as the opposite. The public is still very angry about the state of affairs. These corporations are in league with Trump, and we need to explain why.”

More things you should read

• Makena Kelly at WIRED is reporting that as some TikTok users are flocking to other platforms like “Red Note” ahead of a potential ban, Duolingo is seeing a major increase in users wanting to learn Chinese.

• Some MAGA insiders aren’t exactly buying Meta’s recent political shift. Trump campaign digital advisor Alex Bruesewitz seemed a little skeptical of Mark Zuckerberg’s political conversion in this POLITICO Magazine Q&A.

• Why is a random venture capitalist interviewing people for Trump administration positions?

• As Democrats continue to be seen as out of touch with the working class and Republicans seize total control of the federal government, Progressive staffers on Capitol Hill are asking for a 32 hour work week.

• Faiz Shakir, the founder of progressive digital media startup More Perfect Union and Bernie Sanders’ former Campaign Manager, announced this week that he is running for chair of the DNC. The New York Times was the first to break the news.

A classic TikTok, as a treat

That’s it for today. Full access to today’s newsletter was just for paying subscribers, so I wanted to give a huge shout out to all of you who upgraded your subscription this week and helped me get Chaotic Era off the ground. Eternally grateful.

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