Favors For A Ballroom?! Big Beautiful Ballroom

Big Tech’s Big Check: Are Amazon and Google Dancing Their Way Out of Antitrust Trouble?

Posted on October 24, 2025

President Trump’s $300 million White House glow-up, complete with a glitzy new 90,000-square-foot ballroom where the East Wing once stood, is the kind of project that makes headlines and raises eyebrows. No taxpayer dollars are funding this Mar-a-Lago-inspired extravaganza—just a who’s-who of corporate giants and billionaires, with Amazon, Google, Meta, Apple, Microsoft, Lockheed Martin, Palantir, Coinbase, and names like the Winklevoss twins and Howard Lutnick footing the bill.

The White House calls it a “legacy” upgrade, set to finish well before 2029. But the timing and donor list have sparked a spicier question: Are Amazon and Google, two of the biggest contributors, writing checks to waltz away from their antitrust woes?

Setting the Stage

The Trump administration has signaled a shift from the Biden-era’s aggressive antitrust crackdowns. The DOJ and FTC under Biden went hard after Big Tech, accusing Google of monopolizing search and ad tech and Amazon of strong-arming sellers into unfair deals. Fast-forward to 2025, and the landscape looks friendlier for Silicon Valley.

Google’s landmark search monopoly case wrapped its remedies phase in September 2025 with a light touch—no forced divestitures of Android or Chrome, just mandates to share data with rivals and ditch exclusive search deals. Its ad tech trial kicked off around the same time, but whispers of a settlement suggest Google might dodge a breakup of tools like AdX.

Amazon’s FTC case over its marketplace practices? Pushed to 2027, with a recent “Buy Box” lawsuit tossed out in February 2025, giving Bezos’ empire some breathing room.

Enter the Ballroom

The donor list for this gilded project dropped days after the East Wing’s demolition began, and it’s no secret that Amazon and Google are among the heavy hitters. X posts are buzzing, with some calling Google’s contribution “bigly” and others dubbing the whole affair a “billionaire’s dance floor.”

It’s not hard to connect the dots: Big Tech’s generosity aligns suspiciously with a Trump administration that’s dialing back the antitrust heat. Unlike Biden’s trustbusters, Trump’s first term saw probes launched but rarely pursued with vigor. His second term seems poised to double down on a “deregulate and dominate” ethos, letting companies like Google and Amazon skate by with settlements or softened penalties.

Access Capitalism in Action

This isn’t charity—it’s access capitalism. Donating millions to a president’s pet project buys more than a plaque; it secures a seat at the policy table. X users are calling it pay-to-play, and the timing—amid a federal shutdown that’s somehow not pausing these antitrust cases—only fuels the skepticism.

Amazon and Google aren’t just grateful for a lighter regulatory touch; they’re investing in it. The ballroom, with its marble floors and chandelier dreams, might as well be a monument to influence.

The Takeaway

Big Tech’s deep pockets are reshaping more than the White House—they’re potentially reshaping the rules of the game. As the rubble clears and the ballroom rises, Amazon and Google are dancing to a tune of their own making, with antitrust relief as the encore.

Keep an eye on this one; the next steps in this waltz could set the tone for tech regulation for years to come.

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Sources: White House press releases, DOJ and FTC case filings, X posts on donor contributions, and recent antitrust trial updates.