Private dinner with world’s most powerful man and his wife will cost you Rs 169347000, the couple is…

Want to rub shoulders with the most powerful man in the world and enjoy a chat with him and his wife over a private dinner? Well, if your a supporter of the Republican Party and Donald Trump, you can buy your chance to spend some private time with the incoming President of the United States (POTUS) and the First Lady Melania Trump over a private dinner for a price tag of $2 million (roughly Rs 17 crore).

As per a flier titled ‘Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee Benefits’, donors who have donated $1 million or raised $2 million for the Trump-Vance campaign will have a chance to rub shoulders with the most powerful couple in the world– Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump– at a special event on January 19, 2024, a day ahead of the January 20 Trump inauguration ceremony.

According to a New York Times report, the dinner is being touted as ‘summit’ of the inaugural ceremony festivities, where some of the elite donors will also receive six tickets to Trump’s inauguration ceremony (swearing-in) on January 20. The flier also confirmed that First Lady Melania Trump will also be a part of the inaugural ceremonies.

A reception for both the elite donors as well as fund-raisers, will be among the major highlights of the the events scheduled to take place on January 18, in which all of Trump’s cabinet picks and a dinner with US Vice President-elect JD Vance and his wife, Usha Vance. On January 19, an “elegant and intimate dinner with President Donald J Trump and Mrs Melania Trump”, which has been described as the “pinnacle event”, will take place.

Notably, Melania Trump, who largely stayed out of spotlight during Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign, had not confirmed whether she would attend the inaugural festivities, but the flier confirmed that she will be participating in the events, including a Sunday morning interfaith service — she plans to attend with her husband.

Donors who have contributed between $50,000 and $1 million will have the opportunity to attend a “Starlight Ball” on the evening of the inauguration, according to Axios.

Fundraising events for inaugural ceremonies is common practice for American presidents, since the law prevents them from spending taxpayer money, which is earmarked for official ceremonies such as the swearing-in and the inaugural luncheon at the Capitol. Private donations help cover inauguration ceremony events, including the inaugural parade, concerts and balls.

In 2021, outgoing President Joe Biden’s inaugural committee accepted donations of up to $500,000 from individuals and up to $1 million from corporations, while Barack had raised $53 million for his first inauguration in 2009.

However, unlike previous inaugural committees, the Trump-Vance Committee has been set up as a political nonprofit body to escape tax burdens and has no cap on donations. In 2016, during Trump’s first run as POTUS, his inaugural committee, which had raised a record
$107 million, had come under the scanner, and some of the donations were the subject a federal agency investigation into alleged illegal foreign donations, resulting in a 12-year prison sentence for one donor.