- Incoming first lady will also attend an interfaith service the morning before the inauguration and a ‘Starlight Ball’ after the swearing-in ceremony
Donors who give at least $1 million to Donald Trump’s inauguration will get an intimate dinner with Melania Trump and the president-elect.
The Trump team is busy raising funds to pay for the events surrounding his swearing-in as president, which includes dinners and balls.
A flier, obtained by The New York Times, called ‘Trump Vance Inaugural Committee Benefits,’ lists the perks of donating $1 million or raising $2 million for the event.
Donors who give that much would receive a half-dozen tickets to eight inaugural events from Jan. 17 to Jan. 20, including the swearing-in at the Capitol on the morning of the 20th.
Those events also include an ‘elegant and intimate dinner’ with the Trumps on Jan. 19, which is the day before inauguration. The flier calls it the ‘pinnacle event.’
Other events include a reception with Trump’s Cabinet nominees and a separate dinner with incoming Vice President J.D. Vance and his wife Usha. And the package includes six tickets to the black-tie ‘Starlight Ball’ with the Trumps and Vances on Monday night.
Donors who give $1 million to Donald Trump’s inauguration get an intimate dinner with Melania
Melania Trump has not publicly confirmed her attendance around any inaugural events but the flier also notes she’ll attend a Sunday morning service with Donald Trump. Entitled ‘One America, One Light Sunday Service,’ the interfaith service will feature U.S. military bands.
The incoming first lady was not a regular on the campaign trail, making very few appearances.
She has hired a chief of staff for the East Wing but hasn’t made any other major announcements about how she’ll spend her second term in the White House.
Presidential inaugurations are paid for by private donors and taxpayers.
Much of the taxpayer money goes to security needs on the day of the event, which includes a massive parade down Pennsylvania Avenue, and can cost over $100 million.
Donor money goes to more private events. For Trump’s first inauguration in 2017, his inaugural committee raised $107 million for black-tie parties and bespoke gifts.
Donors and corporations typically donate as a way to support the incoming-president and to curry favor with the incoming administration. There are no limits on the amount but gifts over $200 are disclosed to the Federal Election Commission.
Florida real estate investor Steven Witkoff and former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler are chairing Trump’s inaugural committee.
Witkoff was with Trump when the former president was the target of a second attempted assassination at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida in September. The two are longtime golf partners.
Trump announced on Wednesday he was nominating Loeffler to head the Small Business Administration. He’s named Witkoff as his envoy to the Middle East.
Donald and Melania Trump at their January 20th, 2017 inaugural ball
Trump’s first inaugural committee, which was investigated by federal prosecutors for illegal foreign donations, resulted in a 12-year prison sentence for one donor.
Additionally, Trump’s businesses and inaugural committee reached a deal to pay Washington, D.C., $750,000 to resolve a lawsuit that alleged the committee overpaid for events at the then-Trump hotel and enriched the former president’s family in the process.
Trump later sold his DC property. It’s now a Waldorf-Astoria hotel.
