• Theo Vonn fell out of a broken folding chair at the Trump inauguration and blamed Logan Paul.
• Logan denied tampering with the chair, and eventually, the beef was squashed.
• I wish I never knew any of this.

Inauguration Day for Donald Trump was a time of heightened emotions for a nation healing from a contentious election. For one man, this was tumultuous not just in the soul, but literally: Podcaster Theo Vonn fell out of his folding chair in the audience at the inaugural ceremony.

Here's what happened:

Vonn's folding chair seemingly collapsed, and Logan Paul, who was sitting right behind him, posted a video of it to X.

For some context, Trump appeared as a guest on both of the men's separate podcasts during his 2024 campaign.

Trump's various podcast appearances were considered a cunning strategy to appeal to young male voters that helped him win the election.

Vonn, Paul, and other podcasters like Joe Rogan were invited to attend the inauguration.

After Vonn fell out of his chair, he accused Paul and his brother Jake of somehow tampering with the chair as a prank, quote-tweeting his post with: "thought we was past the pranks boys."

In a reply to a fan, Vonn had some harsher words about the Paul brothers:

Logan Paul denied that he was involved. He suggested that Vonn was to blame as he sat in a chair that he knew had a structural flaw.

But thankfully, two days later, the two podcasting giants had worked out their beef.

(Vonn and Paul did not respond to requests for additional comment, and to be fair, we can't say for 100% certain the chair mishap wasn't a stunt, although it does look real.)

As a side note, I'd like you to please observe in Paul's video that you can see OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang looking on first in apparent shock and then amusement.

I know what you're thinking: Why should I care about this, and in fact why should I even know about this? You're desperate to rewind to two minutes ago before you knew any of this ever happened because now you are forever cursed to walk this earth until your dying day with the sentence "Theo Vonn and Logan Paul squashed their beef over inaugural chairgate" rattling around in your brain.

But you can't go back. You have this knowledge now. You know that Theo Vonn fell out of his chair and blamed Logan Paul (who denied it), but now they have made up. Don't look away from this. Accept that you are now changed. This is who you are. You're someone who knows all the details of a feud that started in the overflow audience room at the presidential inauguration.

Like the folding chair, our nation and our democracy can be unstable. But like the bonds of friendship between two men who podcast, our nation can always heal.

• Lauren Sánchez wore a white Alexander McQueen suit and lace bra to Trump's inauguration.
• She previously wore the ensemble to a book event in December and at a Forbes event in September.
• This time, she paired it with a Schiaparelli coat that retails for over $9,000.

Lauren Sánchez seems to have a favorite outfit.

For at least the third time since September, the journalist has worn a white Alexander McQueen suit with a lace bra peeking out of its blazer for a public event.

The latest outing was Donald Trump's inauguration, which she attended on Monday alongside her fiancé, Jeff Bezos.

She wore the designer outfit beneath a brushed wool and mohair coat from the Italian fashion house Schiaparelli.

The statement design costs 8,700 euros, or about $9,073, and features gold-brass buttons designed to look like nipples.

Some loved Sánchez's feminine look, while others criticized the set — specifically its visible bra, which was cut low and had small cutouts. They described it as risqué on platforms like X.

Sánchez, however, isn't one to shy away from being bold at political events. She previously wore a red, satin, and lace gown with a sheer corseted bodice at a 2024 state dinner hosted by Joe Biden in honor of Japan's prime minister at the time, Fumio Kishida.

Stylist Kelly Johnson put together the most recent ensemble, which Sánchez has worn on numerous occasions. Johnson and representatives for Sánchez did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

The children's book author previously wore the outfit (minus the coat) to The New York Times DealBook event in New York City on December 5 and once earlier at the Forbes Power Women's Summit in September 2024.

At the latter event, Sánchez spoke onstage about being Bezos' fiancée, how she sees the role as a responsibility, and their work together on Bezos Earth Fund, a $10 billion effort to fight the climate crisis.

"I'm in this room with all these influential and powerful women," she said at the time. "I'm looking around and going, 'Whoa,' and it doesn't escape me that most of you know me as Lauren Sánchez, comma, Jeff Bezos' fiancée."

"I get it, but I can choose to do something, or I can choose to do nothing," Sánchez said. "And I'm choosing to do something."

Historically, women who wear white at presidential inaugurations have been recognized as making political statements.

When Hillary Clinton wore the color at Trump's first inauguration in 2017, for example, many saw her outfit as a symbol of women's suffrage.

It's unclear if Sánchez's outfit had a hidden meaning or if she just really likes her McQueen suit.

• Kai Madison Trump, 17, is the eldest grandchild of President Donald Trump.
• She is the daughter of Donald Trump Jr. and his ex-wife Vanessa Trump.
• She spoke about her grandfather onstage at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July.

Kai Madison Trump, 17, is Donald Trump's eldest grandchild. She attended the presidential inauguration and was mentioned by Trump during his address at Capital One Arena.

In her first public appearance at the Republican National Convention in July, Trump spoke about her relationship with her grandfather.

"To me, he's just a normal grandpa," she said. "He gives us candy and soda when our parents aren't looking. He always wants to know how we're doing in school."

"A lot of people have put my grandpa through hell and he's still standing," she continued. "Grandpa, you are such an inspiration and I love you. The media makes my grandpa seem like a different person, but I know him for who he is."

Here's what you need to know about Kai Trump, the president's eldest grandchild.

Kai Madison Trump is the 17-year-old daughter of Donald Trump Jr. and Vanessa Trump.

Trump was born on May 12, 2007, and is the eldest granddaughter of President Donald Trump.

Her parents are Donald Trump Jr. and his ex-wife, Vanessa Trump.

At 17, she's just one year younger than Barron Trump, the youngest son of her grandparents, Donald Trump and Melania Trump.

Her parents were married from 2005 to 2018.

Vanessa Trump and Donald Trump Jr. share five children together: Kai Madison Trump, 17; Donald John III, 15; Tristan Milos, 13; Spencer Frederick, 12; and Chloe Sophia, 10.

She was born and raised in New York and now lives with her mother in Jupiter, Florida.

USA Today reported that she attends The Benjamin School, a private school in North Palm Beach, Florida. The outlet reported that she moved to Florida when she was 13 and lives a short distance from President Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort.

She said in a recent YouTube vlog that she hopes to spend more time in Washington, DC, after Trump takes office.

Kai spoke onstage at the Republican National Convention in 2024.

"I'm speaking today to share the side of my grandpa that people don't often see. To me, he's just a normal grandpa," Trump said in her first official address.

"Even when he is going through all these court cases, he always asks me how I'm doing," she continued. "He always encourages me to push myself to be the most successful person I can be."

Trump also addressed the assassination attempt on her grandfather, saying that after she heard about it she "just wanted to know if he was OK."

"It was heartbreaking that someone would do that to another person. A lot of people have put my grandpa through hell and he's still standing. Grandpa, you are such an inspiration and I love you," she said.

She's an avid golfer and often utilizes her grandfather's golf courses for training.

Trump is an avid golfer and has said she wants to play at the collegiate level at the University of Miami after graduating from high school in 2026.

In an Instagram post announcing her plans to play collegiate golf, she thanked Donald Trump, writing, "I would like to thank my Grandpa for giving me access to great courses and tremendous support."

Her grandfather owns 16 golf courses around the world.

In her speech at the Republican National Convention, she spoke about playing golf with her grandfather.

"When we play golf together, if I'm not on his team, he'll try to get inside of my head," she said. "And he is always surprised that I don't let him get to me, but I have to remind him I'm a Trump, too."

She has her own YouTube channel.

Trump posted a vlog on Inauguration Day that showed behind-the-scenes footage of her prepping to attend pre-inauguration events, such as a formal dinner at the Building Museum where she wore a navy-blue Sherri Hill gown with cutouts.

She also promised fans to film inside the White House during Monday's inauguration events.

Kai Trump has 723,000 YouTube subscribers, about 1 million Instagram followers, and 1.7 million followers on TikTok.

• Donald Trump was inaugurated for his second non-consecutive presidential term on January 20, 2025.
• Ivanka Trump attended her father's inaugurations but will not serve in his second administration.
• Barron Trump, the president's youngest child, now towers over both of his parents.

Donald Trump's second presidential inauguration was held on Monday, exactly eight years after the president's first inauguration on January 20, 2017.

After losing his bid for reelection in 2020, Trump ran again in 2024 and won, becoming the second US president, after Grover Cleveland, to serve two non-consecutive terms.

The Trump family has seen big changes since 2017.

Ivanka Trump will not serve a major role within her father's administration this time around, after previously serving as an advisor to the president.

Barron Trump, the president's youngest son, was just 10 years old when his father first took office. Now 18, Barron is a freshman at New York University and has taken a more active role in his father's campaign.

Here's what the Trump family looked like at the 2017 Inauguration compared to 2025, and how their roles have changed.

Donald Trump became the oldest president to assume the presidency during his first inauguration ceremony in 2017.

When he was inaugurated on January 20, 2017, at 70 years old, Trump was the oldest person to assume the presidency.

"We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and to restore its promise for all of our people," Trump said in an inaugural address in 2017. "Together, we will determine the course of America and the world for years to come."

Trump is once again the oldest president to assume office.

Biden became the oldest president at 78 years and 61 days when he was inaugurated on January 20, 2021.

However, Trump surpassed him on January 20, 2025, at 78 years and 220 days years old.

"The golden age of America begins right now," Trump said in an inaugural speech. The president also announced a series of impending executive orders that include immigration reform and the establishment of an External Revenue Service.

The core members of Trump's immediate family attended his first inauguration.

At his first swearing-in ceremony, Trump was flanked by his wife Melania Trump and his children Barron, Ivanka, Eric, Donald Jr., and Tiffany.

Trump's children and their partners also attended the 2025 inauguration, which was held inside the Capitol.

Tiffany Trump and her husband Michael Boulos, Lara Trump and Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, and Donald Trump Jr. all attended the 2025 inauguration.

Melania Trump and Barron Trump stood directly alongside the president during his swearing-in ceremony, with his other children, Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris also present.

Barron was just 10 years old when he attended his father's first inauguration.

Though he was only 10, the youngest Trump son was nearly taller than both his parents at his father's first inauguration.

Barron moved into the White House five months after his father was sworn in and became the first boy to live in the historic home since John F. Kennedy Jr. lived there in 1961.

Now an adult, Barron towers over his parents.

Barron, 18, will not live in the White House this time around. He is a freshman at New York University and lives in off-campus housing, People reported.

Melania Trump was by her husband's side when Barack and Michelle Obama welcomed him to the White House in 2017.

Melania lived in the White House during her four years as First Lady and was welcomed into the home by the Obamas on her husband's first day in office.

She wore a powder-blue suit by Ralph Lauren.

She appeared alongside her husband as Joe and Jill Biden welcomed the couple back to the White House, though she won't live there full-time.

For the 2025 inauguration, the First Lady opted for a navy blue coat and skirt by American designer Adam Lippes. She paired the look with a wide-brimmed hat by Eric Javits, another American designer.

The extent of Melania's role in her husband's second administration remains unclear.

People reported that the First Lady will live it the White House at least part-time, dividing her time between Washington, New York (where Barron is in school), and Mar-a-Lago.

"I will be in the White House. And when I need to be in New York, I will be in New York. When I need to be in Palm Beach, I will be in Palm Beach," she said in an interview with Fox & Friends on January 13. "My first priority is to be a mom, to be a first lady, to be a wife."

Melania Trump stood on the podium alongside her husband as he was sworn in for a second time on January 20, 2025.

Ivanka Trump became an advisor after her father was sworn in in 2017.

According to her official White House bio, Ivanka Trump served as a senior White House advisor during Donald Trump's first term.

She focused on issues such as the "education and economic empowerment of women and their families" and boosting jobs and economic growth through skills training and entrepreneurship, according to the bio.

Ivanka attended her father's second inauguration, but will not be part of the new administration.

When Trump launched his third presidential campaign in 2024, Ivanka announced that she was stepping away from politics and would not play an official part in his next administration.

"I love my father very much," she said in a statement shared on social media. "This time around, I am choosing to prioritize my children and the private life we are creating as a family. I do not plan to be involved in politics. While I will always love and support my father, going forward, I will do so outside the political arena."

Jared Kushner attended the 2017 inauguration with his and Ivanka's children.

Kushner served alongside his wife as a senior advisor in his father-in-law's first administration.

He played a key role in brokering the Abraham Accords, a set of agreements that established diplomatic relations between Israel, Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates.

Jared Kushner also attended Trump's second inauguration.

CNN and the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom reported that Jared Kushner is expected to serve as an informal advisor to President Trump focusing on matters related to the Middle East.

Donald Trump Jr. arrived at the 2017 inauguration with his sister Ivanka.

Donald Trump Jr. did not serve in an official capacity within the White House during his father's presidency.

During Trump's first presidential term, he and his brother, Eric Trump, continued overseeing the Trump Organization, which manages the Trump family's real-estate holdings and is currently appealing its civil-fraud case verdict.

Tiffany Trump and her brother, Eric Trump, arrived together for their father's first inauguration.

Though not overly political, Tiffany spoke at the Republican National Conventions in 2016 and 2020.

Eric has also appeared alongside his family at multiple campaign events throughout Trump's political career.

All five of Donald Trump's children — Donald Jr., Ivanka, Eric, Tiffany, and Barron — attended the 2025 inauguration.

It wasn't widely announced prior to Inauguration Day which members of the Trump family would attend. However, all five of the president's children arrived together for the ceremony.

Trump Jr.'s rumored ex-girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle, who he started dating in 2018, was not spotted at the inauguration, though she did attend a few pre-inauguration events. Page Six reported their breakup in December, and Trump Jr. has since been linked to Florida socialite Bettina Anderson.

Tiffany did not speak at the 2024 Republican National Convention and has only made a few political appearances in recent years, including the inauguration. She and her husband, Michael Boulos, are expecting their first child.

Eric Trump is expected to continue leading the Trump Organization as executive vice president.

In his inaugural speech, Trump promised to crack down on illegal immigration, increase fracking and oil drilling, and plant the American flag on Mars.

• Argentina's Javier Milei was pictured with people close to Donald Trump at events over the weekend.
• Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, Kari Lake, and Roger Stone praised the Argentine president.
• His government has brought inflation down, but its approaches have also triggered a recession.

Javier Milei was the talk of Trumpworld in the days leading up to Donald Trump's inauguration.

Videos and pictures captured over the weekend showed Argentina's firebrand president rubbing shoulders with — and receiving praise from — some of those close to the president-elect, at events held in Washington, DC.

Milei was welcomed with a standing ovation and a round of applause at the Official Hispanic Inaugural Ball on Saturday, which celebrates the achievements and impact of US Hispanics.

Vivek Ramaswamy, the cohead of DOGE, who introduced him at the event, described Milei as "a man who knows how to DOGE & how to MAGA."

The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, is a new commission that aims to slash federal spending and cut regulations.

On Sunday, Michael Milken, chairman of the non-partisan economic think tank Milken Institute, also welcomed Milei at the Center for Advancing the American Dream as the event's "very first" speaker and for "shining a light not just Argentina but the world today."

Milken was pardoned by Trump in 2020. He had served 22 months in prison for insider trading in the 1990s and has become a prominent philanthropist.

Later that same day, Milei was pictured with Kari Lake, the Voice of America director-designate who lost the Arizona Senate last year, at the 1775 Gala.

"So blessed to speak with Argentina's incredible President @JMilei at the 1775 Gala — as we celebrate 250 years of faith and freedom!" she wrote.

Since assuming office in December 2023, Milei has overseen a decline in inflation in Argentina, but his sweeping cost-cutting policies have also triggered a recession.

Milei fired tens of thousands of public employees, shut down half the country's 18 ministries, and cut state spending by an estimated 31% in his first 10 months in office.

Partly as a result, Argentina's headline inflation rate dropped from 25.5% in December 2023 to 2.4% in November 2024 — the lowest it had been in over four years.

However, Facundo Nejamkis, director of Opina Argentina, a political consultancy firm, told Reuters in December that the cuts had ignited a "major" recession.

And Argentinians' purchasing power has eroded to record lows, with the real minimum wage falling by 30%, according to a December report by the Interdisciplinary Institute of Political Economy at the University of Buenos Aires' Economics Faculty.

Even so, Milei's policies have received praise and attention from some in Republican circles, due to his sweeping cost-cutting measures.

Elon Musk and Ramaswamy, the co-leaders of DOGE, have, in particular, praised Milei.

In fact, Musk repeatedly praised Milei on X over the weekend, saying once in Spanish that, "I love @JMilei."

As Business Insider previously reported, Ramaswamy and Musk have scaled back their goal of cutting $2 trillion from US federal spending by the time the commission disbands, no later than July 4, 2026, but have still floated a slate of reforms, from deleting agencies to firing federal employees.

Milei was also photographed with former Trump advisor Roger Stone, who, in an X post on Sunday, said, "I worked for Ronald Reagan, I worked for Donald Trump—and now, I have met 'El León,'" referring to Milei as "The Lion."

• China's vice president met VP-elect JD Vance on Sunday — and Elon Musk came too.
• The meetings came ahead of Han Zheng's planned attendance at Donald Trump's inauguration.
• Beijing could see Musk, who makes Teslas in China, as a useful go-between.

On the eve of Donald Trump's inauguration, China's envoy to the event, Han Zheng, met with JD Vance just before he takes the vice presidency.

With Xi Jinping not attending, it's the highest-level contact between Beijing and the new US administration.

On the same day, Han had a separate meeting with Elon Musk, a close ally of Trump who also has a strong link with China thanks to his business interests there.

Musk and Han discussed issues including trade and investment, according to Chinese state media outlet Xinhua.

"Musk said that Tesla is willing to deepen investment and cooperation in China and play an active role in promoting US-China economic and trade exchanges," Xinhua said.

Musk got special attention from Han, with a meeting separate from one with other US business leaders.

Beijing sees him as a more sympathetic figure than some of the China hawks in Trump's inner circle, according to analysts.

Kyle Chan, a postdoctoral researcher in Chinese industrial policy at Princeton University, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in December that Musk was "uniquely positioned" to mediate between China and Trump.

Ali Wyne, Senior Research and Advocacy Adviser at the Crisis Group in Washington, DC, told Business Insider that Musk is an "unusually compelling interlocutor" for Chinese officials wary of Trump.

"Beyond being the world's wealthiest individual and the owner of one of its most powerful social media platforms, X, he belongs to President Trump's inner circle and has a vested interest in expanding Tesla's operations in China," he said.

The President-elect has threatened to impose new tariffs on China when he takes power, doubling down on the confrontational policies he pursued in his first term.

Key members of his cabinet, including Vance, believe that the US needs to more aggressively check China's growing power.

Han "discussed a range of topics including fentanyl, balancing trade and regional stability" with Vance, according to the Trump transition team, as cited by The Associated Press.

Musk has extensive business ties in China, notably Tesla's gigafactory near Shanghai.

Musk worked with Li Qiang, the former party secretary for Shanghai and the current Chinese premier, when he first sought to build a Tesla plant in China.

He frequently visits the country and has met Xi several times.

In a post on X on Sunday, Musk said he opposed the ban on TikTok, the Chinese-owned app that lawmakers last year voted to block access to in the US on national security grounds.

The ban came into effect Sunday, but the app restored its services after Trump said he'd delay the ban.

"That said, the current situation where TikTok is allowed to operate in America, but X is not allowed to operate in China is unbalanced," he wrote. "Something needs to change."

While Trump said he could escalate sanctions on China, the president-elect struck a different tone after a conversation by phone with Xi on Friday, saying the pair discussed fentanyl, the ban on TikTok, and trade.

Trump, in a break with historic precedent, invited Xi to his inauguration, a move some analysts interpreted as a power play.

While Xi declined, his decision to send Han, a top-ranking official, may show that Xi is willing to work with Trump to head off a potential trade war.

• Steve Bannon told ABC News that Trump "broke" the tech giants who've embraced him.
• "He broke them, and they surrendered," the ex-Trump White House aide said on Sunday.
• Bannon has expressed skepticism toward Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Ex-Trump White House chief strategist Steve Bannon said Sunday during an ABC News interview that the attendance of high-profile tech moguls at Donald Trump's inauguration on Monday signals their "official surrender" to the president-elect.

Bannon, while speaking with journalist Jonathan Karl on "This Week," said he wasn't surprised by the expected appearances of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg at Trump's inaugural.

"As soon as Zuckerberg said, 'I've been invited. I'm going,' the floodgates opened up, and they were all there knocking, trying to be supplicants," Bannon told Karl. "I think most people in our movement look at this as President Trump broke the oligarchs; he broke them, and they surrendered."

Bannon then pointed to President Joe Biden's farewell speech last week, when the departing president warned that "an oligarchy is taking shape in America," expressing his view that extreme wealth and influence threatened the nation.

"When Biden talks about that… they only became oligarchs when they flipped on him when they surrendered, and they're going to come to Trump's thing," Bannon said.

The former Trump aide then compared the attendance of the tech titans to Japan officially surrendering on the USS Missouri in September 1945, an event which marked the end of World War II.

"He's like Gen. Douglas MacArthur," Bannon said of the president-elect. "That is an official surrender, and I think it's powerful."

Bezos and Zuckerberg are set to be guests at Trump's inauguration, and Musk — a political ally of Trump who has become a fixture of the president-elect's political orbit — will also be in attendance.

Amazon and Meta each donated $1 million to Trump's inaugural fund. Other companies have also donated money as many business leaders seek to establish or strengthen ties with Trump ahead of his second term.

Bannon, during the ABC interview, however expressed skepticism of their recent warmness toward Trump.

"Zuckerberg's, you know, road to Damascus came a little late. It was after the Fifth of November," Bannon told Karl. "It's very, you know, now wants to be a bro. … That doesn't hack it with me."

"That guy will flip on President Trump, and he'll flip on us in a second when it's convenient for him," he added.

Earlier in January, Bannon called Musk a "truly evil guy" after the tech mogul stood behind his support of H-1B visas. Many conservatives have argued against the visas, insistent that the skilled-worker program is detrimental to American workers.

"I will have Elon Musk run out of here by Inauguration Day," Bannon said at the time.

Business Insider reached out to Amazon and Meta for comment.

As Donald Trump returns to the White House, loyalty will be a key aspect of his second term. Unlike 2017, Trump is no longer a political outsider adjusting to Washington for the first time. While Trump has to contend with a closely-divided House, he now has much more control over the GOP.

• Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States on Monday.
• Carrie Underwood performed a cappella at the swearing-in ceremony after an issue with the musical accompaniment.
• The inaugural festivities included three balls, at which musicians, including Billy Ray Cyrus and Nelly, performed.

President-elect Donald Trump was sworn into office Monday for a second non-consecutive term, and his team enlisted the help of some celebrity acts for his inaugural ceremony and related events.

One such event, The Victory Rally, took place Sunday and featured performances by Kid Rock, Billy Ray Cyrus, and Village People.

On Inauguration Day, following Trump's swearing-in ceremony, three separate balls took place: the Liberty Ball, the Commander-in-Chief Ball, and the Starlight Ball.

Here is a list of 11 musical acts that performed at the 2025 inauguration events:

Carrie Underwood (Swearing-in ceremony)

Carrie Underwood performed "America the Beautiful" a cappella after an apparent issue interfered with the planned musical accompaniment to her performance.

"I love our country and am honored to have been asked to sing at the Inauguration and to be a small part of this historic event," Underwood said in a statement to Business Insider on January 14. "I am humbled to answer the call at a time when we must all come together in the spirit of unity and looking to the future."

The "American Idol" alum has largely tried to stay out of politics throughout her career.

"I feel like more people try to pin me places politically," Underwood told The Guardian in 2019. "I try to stay far out of politics if possible, at least in public, because nobody wins. It's crazy. Everybody tries to sum everything up and put a bow on it, like it's black and white. And it's not like that."

Christopher Macchio (Swearing-in ceremony)

Opera singer Christopher Macchio performed the national anthem at the inauguration.

"It is with the deepest humility that I will perform our national anthem, to pay tribute to our great country, and to its newly sworn-in Commander-in-chief, President Donald J. Trump," Macchio said in a statement to BI on January 20.

A representative for Macchio also confirmed that the singer had performed during an inauguration party at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, on Saturday, and is also scheduled to perform at the National Cathedral with the Marine Band Orchestra on Tuesday.

In 2020, Macchio sang at a White House memorial service for Trump's younger brother, Robert Trump, per the Associated Press.

More recently, in October, Macchio performed "New York, New York," at a Trump rally at Madison Square Garden.

Lady Gaga performed the national anthem at President Biden's swearing-in in 2021.

Lee Greenwood (Multiple events)

Lee Greenwood, best known for his song "God Bless the USA," has long been affiliated with Trump, and has appeared at multiple rallies for Trump. He performed at the Victory Rally on Sunday and again at the swearing-in ceremony on Monday.

"This particular time, we have elected to be live with the United States Marine Corps band, and that's going to have a particularly majestic presentation of my song," he told the Washington Examiner. "It'll be a wonderful appearance."

Village People (Multiple events)

During Sunday's Victory Rally and again at the Liberty Ball on Monday night, Trump danced along onstage as the Village People performed their signature song, "Y.M.C.A."

On January 13, Village People, the '70s disco band known for hits like "Macho Man," announced on its official Facebook page that it would be performing at "various events as part of the 2025 Inauguration of Donald J. Trump."

"We know this wont make some of you happy to hear however we believe that music is to be performed without regard to politics," the group's post read. "Our song Y.M.C.A. is a global anthem that hopefully helps bring the country together after a tumultuous and divided campaign where our preferred candidate lost."

The band's decision to perform at the inauguration events is a reversal of its stance from two years ago.

In 2023, the band's manager sent a cease-and-desist letter to Trump's lawyer, requesting that Trump stop using Village People's music and likeness at his events, following an "unauthorized" performance by a cover band at Mar-a-Lago.

A representative for Village People did not respond to a request for comment from BI.

Jason Aldean (Liberty Ball)

Jason Aldean, who Trump called a "fantastic guy" in 2023, also performed at the Liberty Ball.

He sang some of his popular hits, including "Try That in a Small Town." The song — which critics said had racist undertones and promoted gun violence — sparked controversy in 2023 because its accompanying video was filmed at a courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, where a Black man was lynched in 1927.

Aldean responded to those accusations in a statement on X, saying that those references were "not only meritless but dangerous."

Before performing the song at the ball, Aldean doubled down on his stance.

"This next song kind of stirred up a little bit of some shit. But I've always said I stand by the song, I stand by the video, I stand by what it says," Aldean said. "And I think President Trump knows too, because he called me when it came out and told me he liked the song and what a great song it was, that kind of thing."

The musician has played at Mar-a-Lago on New Year's Eve at least twice, per Country Now.

A representative for Aldean did not respond to a request for comment from BI.

Billy Ray Cyrus (Multiple events)

Following a performance at the Victory Rally on Sunday, Billy Ray Cyrus took the stage again on Monday. He sang "Old Town Road" and "Achy Breaky Heart" during his set at the Liberty Ball, but his performance was riddled with technical issues.

At one point during his set, he couldn't hear his guitar. "Check, check, is anybody awake?" the singer said as he requested assistance from the stage crew.

"You all want to sing more or you just want me to get the hell off the stage? I don't give a damn," he said.

Some internet users also took to social media to criticize Cyrus' "embarrassingly awful" performance and his rough-sounding voice.

This comes after the country singer attended a Trump rally over the summer, as seen on Instagram.

His daughter, Miley Cyrus, has previously been a vocal critic of the president, calling him a "nightmare" in 2016, per People.

A representative for Cyrus did not have a statement for BI.

Nelly (Liberty Ball)

Nelly, the Grammy Award-winning rapper, performed some of his biggest hits, including "Hot in Herre" and "Dilemma," at the Liberty Ball.

On Sunday, during a YouTube stream hosted by rapper Willie D, Nelly defended his decision to perform and said that he was "not political."

"Performing for somebody and voting for somebody is two different things. Endorsing people is two different things," Nelly said during the stream.

The singer added that he wasn't too bothered by the backlash he received following the announcement of his performance.

"It is an honor for me to perform for the president of the United States, regardless of who is in office," he said. "If President Biden would have asked me to perform, I would have performed. If Vice President Kamala Harris would have won and asked me to perform, I would have performed."

He added that he wasn't "doing this for money."

A representative for Nelly did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular hours.

Rascal Flatts (Commander-in-Chief Ball)

Rascal Flatts performed at the Commander-in-Chief Ball.

Gary LeVox, the lead vocalist, had taken to Instagram last week to announce the band's performance.

"I am so humbled and honored and grateful for the opportunity again to play the inauguration of the 47th President of the United States. I got to play it in 2016 and now Rascal Flatts will be performing at the commanders ball and I am so looking forward to it!" LeVox wrote in an Instagram post.

The band — known for hits such as "Life is a Highway" and "What Hurts The Most" — disbanded in 2021 but announced last year that they would be coming together for a reunion tour to celebrate their 25th anniversary.

LeVox previously performed at the Veterans Inaugural Ball in 2017 without his bandmates.

Parker McCollum (Commander-in-Chief Ball)

Parker McCollum also performed at the Commander-in-Chief Ball.

McCollum has been releasing music since 2013 and had something of a breakthrough in the last couple of years. His single "Burn It Down" was nominated for song of the year at the 2024 CMA Awards.

Gavin DeGraw (Starlight Ball)

Gavin DeGraw performed at the final official ball of Monday evening, the Starlight Ball.

The singer is known for songs such as "I Don't Want to Be," "In Love with a Girl," and "Not Over You."

Kid Rock (Victory Rally)

Kid Rock was one of multiple performers at the Victory Rally on Sunday.

Rock performed at the 2024 Republican National Convention last summer and appeared with Trump at a UFC fight in November, so it wasn't a surprise that he was tapped to celebrate him once again.

A representative for the rapper did not respond to a request for comment from BI.

• Google is joining tech companies like Amazon and Meta in donating to Donald Trump's inauguration.
• The search giant said it is giving $1 million, more than triple what it gave Trump in 2017.
• In September, Trump threatened to prosecute Google if he was elected president.

Google said it is donating $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump's coming inauguration.

"Google is pleased to support the 2025 inauguration, with a livestream on YouTube and a direct link on our homepage. We're also donating to the inaugural committee," the company's global head of government affairs and public policy, Karan Bhatia, told CNBC.

Google's contribution, which will help fund the celebratory events after Trump takes office, is more than triple what it gave in 2017. The search giant donated $285,000 to Trump's first inauguration, per Federal Election Commission filings.

Back in September, Trump said in a Truth Social post that he would prosecute Google "at the maximum levels" if he won the election.

In his post, Trump accused Google of "illegally" using its system to display only "bad stories" about him while surfacing positive reports about his rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Google and Trump's transition team did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

Trump's second inauguration, on January 20, has seen donations pour in from multiple companies and business leaders.

The president-elect has received contributions from tech companies like Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Uber. Like Google, all four companies have donated $1 million each.

That's on top of the personal donations made by tech executives like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Both Altman and Khosrowshahi donated $1 million each as well.

"One of the big differences between the first term, in the first term, everybody was fighting me. In this term, everybody wants to be my friend," Trump said at a press conference in December.

"I don't know, my personality changed or something," he added.

Since winning the election in November, Trump has raised more than $200 million in donations, of which at least $150 million will go toward the inauguration, The New York Times reported on Saturday.

Trump raised $106.8 million for his first inauguration in 2017, per the FEC.

• Trump has raised millions from CEOs and businesses for his inauguration and presidential library.
• Apple CEO Tim Cook was the latest to contribute, Axios reported.
• The Times reported that Trump has raised over $200 million since winning a second term.

President-elect Donald Trump will take office in less than three weeks.

In the meantime, he continues to craft his policy agenda and make key appointments for his second administration.

He is also raking in substantial amounts of money.

From Meta and Coinbase to Ford and GM, businesses and CEOs are contributing large sums to Trump's inauguration and future presidential library as the president-elect prepares to enter the Oval Office for a second term.

Apple CEO Tim Cook is the latest to contribute $1 million of his own money to Trump's inaugural committee, according to Axios.

Trump has so far collected a total of at least $200 million, according to The New York Times, which spoke to sources involved in the fundraising. At least $150 million of that will go toward his inaugural, far more than the $107 million he raised for the event in 2017.

The super PAC Make America Great Again Inc. is also set to benefit from the cash infusion, giving Trump's allies a powerful vehicle to boost his conservative plans on everything from tax policy to the environment, as well as the GOP lawmakers who'll back his agenda.

David Tamasi, a Washington lobbyist, waved off the notion that donors were contributing to Trump to stay on his good side. However, he told the Times that some leaders may seek to build rapport after being detached from the president-elect's orbit.

"It is a time-honored DC tradition that corporations are enthusiastically embracing this cycle in all manners, largely because they were on the sidelines during previous Trump cycles," Tamasi said. "They no longer have to hedge their political bets."

There are virtually no limits to contributions for inaugural committees, and corporations have traditionally funded inaugurations regardless of the political party of the incoming commander in chief.

President Joe Biden's inaugural committee raised $63.8 million for his 2021 inauguration, according to FEC filings.

Trump's relationships with many top business leaders became rocky during his first term, namely in the aftermath of the August 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where white nationalist groups sparked violent clashes. The January 6, 2021 attack at the US Capitol, days before Trump left office, led several companies to pause financial contributions to GOP politicians who had voted to overturn the 2020 presidential results.

Even during the 2024 presidential campaign, some business leaders stayed out of the political fray, while others, like LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman and Netflix cofounder Reed Hastings, supported Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign.

• Big Tech companies and CEOs are already lining up six-figure donations to Donald Trump's inauguration.
• Amazon, Sam Altman, and Meta are each prepared to donate $1 million.
• There are virtually no limits on inaugural donations, meaning Big Tech companies can cut massive checks.

Big Tech companies and the moguls behind them are preparing to make six-figure donations to President-elect Donald Trump's inaugural committee.

Jeff Bezos' Amazon, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Mark Zuckerberg's Meta have all been reported to have made or will make $1 million to the outfit tasked with planning and organizing Trump's triumphant return to power.

"The financing of inaugurations is really a cesspool when it comes to campaign financing," Craig Holman, a lobbyist for government watchdog Public Citizen, told Business Insider.

Holman said there are few, if any, limits to inaugural donations, and what makes them particularly appealing is that megadonors and CEOs don't have to worry about picking the loser.

"Unlike financing a campaign, when you don't know for sure who is going to win, here in the inauguration, you've got the winner," he said. "So corporations and other special interests just throw money at them at the feet of the president with the hope of currying favor."

Jeff Hauser, executive director of the Revolving Door Project, a public interest group, said donations to the inaugural committee are less likely to irk the opposition.

"They are frequently a mechanism for entities that sit out elections to get good with the incoming administration," he said.

Trump's 2017 inaugural set a record, raking in roughly $107 million. Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson donated $5 million, the largest single donation. AT&T gave just over $2 million. For many in Washington, it was a time to make nice with an incoming president that few thought would win the 2016 race.

This time, Trump's inaugural offers one final major opportunity for CEOs to curry influence with the president-elect at his peak.

Since he'll be term-limited, the next major fundraising opportunity likely won't come until Trump begins preparations for a presidential library (should that even occur). At that point, companies will have missed their window to make a final impression before mergers and acquisitions.

2017 Trump inaugural donors benefited greatly

Playing ball can have major benefits. OpenSecrets found in 2018 that "of the 63 federal contractors that donated to the inauguration, more than half won multimillion-dollar bids" from the federal government later on.

Foreign donors can't contribute to a president-elect's inaugural committee, and the committee must publicly disclose details about donations over $200 within 90 days of Inauguration Day. Otherwise, there are few limits on what individuals or corporations can give, and inaugural committees are not required to explain how they spend the money.

Some presidents, especially Obama in 2009, have imposed voluntary restrictions on donations. Obama refused to accept corporate donations or individual contributions over $50,000 for his historic first inauguration, though he later lifted those limits for his reelection celebration.

Hauser said donations will allow corporations to prepare for an especially transactional period.

"I think that corporations with an agenda in Trump's Washington, be it offense, like getting new contracts, or defense, like avoiding negative federal scrutiny, are going to spend millions of dollars in Washington to either make or protect billions in the real economy," Hauser said.

Tech companies are under the microscope.

Amazon, Google, and Meta have all faced antitrust concerns. Republican lawmakers have frequently grilled Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg over Facebook's decision to limit sharing the New York Post's initial report on Hunter Biden's laptop ahead of the 2020 election. Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, donated to help election officials during the COVID-19 pandemic, enraging some on the right, while Trump repeatedly lit into Amazon founder Jeff Bezos for The Washington Post's coverage of his first administration. Amazon sued the Trump administration after Microsoft was awarded a $10 billion cloud computing contract over them, alleging that Trump's animus for Bezos sunk their chances.

Bezos and Zuckerberg have since taken steps to repair their relationships with the Trump world. Zuckerberg has expressed regret over Facebook's decision to censor some posts about COVID-19. He also pledged not to donate to help election officials. Bezos intervened when The Post's editorial board was ready to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris.

Bezos also recently said Trump seemed "calmer than he was the first time and more settled."

"You've probably grown in the last eight years," Bezos said at The New York Times DealBook Summit in December. "He has, too."

Altman has been entangled in a legal battle with his OpenAI cofounder Elon Musk, who is set to be an influential figure in the Trump administration.

In a statement about his donation, Altman said, "President Trump will lead our country into the age of AI, and I am eager to support his efforts to ensure America stays ahead."

Representatives for Amazon, Meta, and Trump's inaugural did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

To get a taste of what may be in store, one only needs to look at what happened at President Joe Biden's inauguration.

A leaked fundraising memo showed that large donations netted individuals and organizations various perks, including opportunities to meet Biden, receive private briefings from top campaign officials, and "preferred viewing" for the virtual inauguration.

All of those benefits came amid pandemic precautions. Trump's party will have no such limits.