SoftBank Contributes $50 Million to Trump’s Library Ahead of Federal Data Center Agreement

In January, SoftBank made headlines by donating $50 million to the Trump Presidential Library, just a couple of months before it announced plans to lease federal land for a massive data center in Ohio. This timing came to light following a letter from Senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal, along with Representative Melanie Stansbury, who expressed concerns about potential bribery.

Senator Warren questioned the coincidence, stating, “Are we expected to believe it’s a coincidence that two months after SoftBank donated $50 million to the Trump library, his administration announced a massive lease deal for SoftBank’s data center? Again and again, it seems like Trump is putting handshake deals with CEOs over what’s best for Americans.”

In March, SoftBank’s SB Energy subsidiary announced a public-private partnership to construct what it claims will be the world’s largest AI data center at a site owned by the U.S. Department of Energy in Portsmouth, Ohio. This partnership also includes plans for a large gas-fired power plant nearby, with a capacity of at least 9.2 gigawatts.

The lawmakers pointed out that while SoftBank has previously contributed to the presidential libraries of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, those donations occurred only after the presidents had left office and the respective library foundations were established. In contrast, SoftBank’s donation to Trump’s library happened during his presidency and before any library had been built.

Moreover, the organization that managed donations for the Trump library, the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Fund, was dissolved by Florida last September due to failure to file an annual report. In its response, SoftBank clarified that its $50 million was directed to the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation, Inc.

Eric Trump, Donald Trump’s son, serves as a trustee of the nonprofit, as reported by Citizens for Ethics. SoftBank’s letter stated, “As with its prior contributions to Presidential libraries, SoftBank understands that this donation will be used to support the construction and operation of the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library.”