Comcast gave $7.5 million to help Donald Trump fund a new White House ballroom, but the donation was well below that of an array of other contributions from major tech companies like Apple and Amazon, according to a new report.
The Washington Post obtained a list of all major donors to the project. The White House had previously disclosed a list of donors, including Comcast, but did not include the amounts.
The top contributors included Nvidia and Apple, which each gave $25 million, as did the Adelson Family Foundation and the Charlie Ergen household and donor advised fund, per the Post. Another $22 million came from Google’s settlement of Trump’s lawsuit after YouTube suspended his account in the wake of the January 6th attack on the Capitol. The Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Foundation gave $20.27 million. Ike Perlmutter, the former CEO of Marvel Entertainment, is a longtime supporter of the president. Amazon gave $5 million, per the report.
Outside of Comcast, no other major media companies were listed as contributors of $100,000 or more.
A Comcast spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The total donations reached almost $330 million. It’s unclear how expensive the ballroom will end up costing, as previous reports have put the figure up to $500 million.
A federal judge ruled earlier this year that ballroom construction had to stop because Congress first had to approve it. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon did allow for building of an underground bunker to continue.
The Supreme Court, however, has allowed the ballroom to proceed as the case moves through lower courts. That may make the situation moot, as construction of the ballroom, replacing the East Wing of the White House, is well underway, with the framing of the structure visibly rising on the White House grounds.