Koji Sato, chief executive officer of Toyota Motor Corp., attends a joint news conference with Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. (NTT) in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. Toyota and NTT have agreed to invest billions to develop autonomous-driving software assisted by artificial intelligence. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Christmas came early for Trump.
Car companies and other top CEOs are rushing to donate millions of dollars to the president elect’s inauguration fund before Trump, 78, enters the Oval Office on Jan. 20 — with Toyota being the latest to hand over the cash.
A rep for the Japan-based automotive manufacturer confirmed it had contributed $1 million to the fund in a statement to The Post on Christmas Eve.
Toyota’s contribution came after Ford and General Motors both said they would also be shelling out $1 million for the incoming president’s fund, Reuters reported.
Trump has floated a 25% tax on all imports coming from the Mexico, potentially hampering Toyota, which manufactures their Tacoma pickup truck there.
The Republican also threatened during his 2024 campaign that he could slap up to a 200% tariff on cars coming from Mexico in an effort to protect American automobile manufacturing.
The efforts to upend tax and trade policies when he gets to the White House has prompted even those who have sparred politically with the 45th president in the past to turn the other cheek.
Companies that previously vowed to not support Political Action Committees (PACs) that disputed the 2020 election after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot are also pitching in with massive donations, per the Wall Street Journal, including, Intuit, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, AT&T and Stanley Black & Decker.
Uber has given the largest donation, coming in at $2 million, per the Journal.
“The first term, everybody was fighting me,” Trump said during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago. “In this term, everybody wants to be my friend.”
Tech CEOs have also been frolicking around Mar-a-Lago in recent weeks, hoping to cozy up before the 47th president’s term kicks in, as Trump has expressed interest in significant tech innovation alongside his confidant Elon Musk.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was spotted dining with Trump at the Florida estate earlier in December, and he wrote a $1 million check later to the inaugural fund.
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