By Juan Larrosa, January 20, 2025
In recent days, before Donald Trump’s’ inauguration, outgoing President Joe Biden issued a troubling warning in his final address to the nation: the possibility of the United States being overtaken by an oligarchy—a government controlled by a few influential individuals. Biden was referring to a group of influential entrepreneurs poised to play a key role in the coming years in the United States.
Today, on the day of Trump’s’ inauguration at the Capitol, the images broadcast by C-SPAN spoke volumes. In the front rows, seated close to the president, were figures like Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Sam Altman. What do they have in common? They are all multimillionaires, owners of enormous corporations, and wield disproportionate influence over the public spheres of the United States and the world. Furthermore, each of them, in one way or another, has expressed support for the new president.
For instance, Elon Musk contributed millions of dollars to Trump’s’ campaign and will play a prominent role in his administration. He is expected to push for a leaner government and a smaller bureaucracy.
However, Trump did not just gain new allies; he also compelled old rivals to bend the knee. This expression, popularized by the series Game of Thrones and other modern narratives, refers to a symbolic act of loyalty and submission, often voluntary, to a new ruler.
Take Jeff Bezos, for example, with whom Trump previously had a strained relationship. Faced with Trump’s inevitable rise to the presidency, the owner of Amazon and The Washington Post decided to forgo the paper’s traditional editorial endorsing Kamala Harris. This decision resulted in the loss of thousands of subscribers. Since then, Bezos has struggled to find an editor for the newspaper, as few are willing to lead such a politically compromised outlet.
Mark Zuckerberg, who was previously aligned with the Democratic Party, was also seen attending Mar-a-Lago, where he donated one million dollars to Trump. He later announced that Facebook would disband its team of fact-checkers responsible for verifying content, paving the way for a more complimentary circulation of misinformation.
Sam Altman, the CEO of ChatGPT, has been less visible in public discussions. Still, he too has shown support for Trump, further solidifying the trend of tech entrepreneurs aligning with the new president.
As if that weren’t enough, Trump has announced his intention to reverse the law banning TikTok in the United States despite its bipartisan approval and ratification by the Supreme Court.
All of this points to a significant transformation in how we communicate. In the coming weeks and months, we may witness less regulation and greater freedom for platforms and media outlets to spread misinformation, propaganda, and hate speech. As Biden warned, we could see the formation of an oligarchy within the realm of communication—one that could prove harmful to the United States and the rest of the world.