The leading ride-hailing platform in the world has shown allegiance to the new Republican president, regardless of its executives’ longstanding disdain for his policies.
Uber Technologies and its CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, have each donated $1 million towards Donald Trump’s forthcoming inauguration scheduled for January, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Khosrowshahi, who was born in Tehran, has been a notable critic of the president-elect, particularly condemning Trump’s 2017 immigration ban affecting six Muslim-majority nations.
“I came to this country at the age of 9; my family had to escape from Iran,” Khosrowshahi previously shared with CNBC. “The essence of the American dream is that you arrive here, believe in democracy, embrace the Constitution, and through hard work, you can achieve success. That’s what makes this nation exceptional, and I believe the president ought to champion that, not oppose it.”
According to WSJ, the Iranian-American executive did not contribute anything to President Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021, and his recent donation marks his largest political contribution to date, indicating “Uber’s readiness to engage with the new administration.”
Adding to the complications, Uber’s chief legal officer, Tony West, is the brother-in-law of Kamala Harris, Biden’s vice president, and Trump’s former rival for the presidency.
West actually took a leave from his position at the tech company to support Harris during the election campaign in November and is believed to have resumed his role at Uber since then.
