The Easter egg roller from First Lady Melania Trump, scheduled for Monday, presents for the first time business sponsors in the history of the event, including major Silicon Valley companies.
The event – which takes place when the prices of the eggs are at record peaks and the avian flu spread through the herds – has a reading corner and a photo sponsored by Amazon; A “Bunny Hop scene” sponsored by YouTube, which belongs to Google; And an “experience of experience and photos fed by AI” sponsored by Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and the mother company of Thread, Meta. A “Bell de Bell photo opportunity” is sponsored by the New York Stock Exchange.
Other sponsors are a little more on the theme, such as the American Egg Board, the Toy Association, the International Fresh Produce Association and the National Confresers Association.
“It would have been opposed to a veto in about 30 seconds of my day,” a lawyer for Richard Painter, an ethical lawyer who served in the White House office, told CNN.
While Trump’s Easter basket is full of corporate sponsorships on Monday, the Trump administration continued to examine major technologies on potential antitrust violations. On Monday, the Ministry of Justice will start an audience on the monopoly of Google’s research. The Federal Trade Commission also opened a lawsuit against Meta on its purchase of Instagram and Whatsapp.
In March, CNN reported that the White House was looking for business sponsors. The event has historically been sponsored by the private sector, mainly through the American Egg Board, not through companies. The sponsorships would have cost $ 75,000 to $ 200,000. The funds will go to the historic association of the White House.
“The sponsors of (the Easter Easter egg roller) provide financial support, activities and gifts to improve the event while obtaining precious visibility and national recognition”, according to the guide requesting sponsors. “Their contributions allow the event to be funded by private taxpayers, creating a memorable experience for children and families.”
This is not the first time the favor of Amazon with the president and his wife. Jeff Bezos from Amazon dined with Trump and Melania in December. Shortly after, Amazon authorized Melania’s documentary for $ 40 million, the most Amazon has ever spent on a documentary.
The Amazon Cloud Computing subsidiary has concluded billions of contracts with the National Security Agency, the Department of Defense and the Navy. Meta said last November that it would allow national security agencies and defense entrepreneurs to use her artificial intelligence model despite a general ban on military and spying uses.
Google has just noted a contract with the General Services Administration on Google Workspace which was praised by Trump Crony Elon Musk.
Only time will tell us if the first lady’s event will be a success.
“It is a company. It is not the roller of Easter eggs from your grandmother where people aligned themselves outside the door and roll an egg and get a small gift bag and come out,” said a former official involved in planning the event in CNN.
