Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States.

That was the big news Monday, and there are plenty of places where you can find how it all went down and what he had to say and what’s next. In fact, I’ll get into that in just a moment.

But what stood out at first glance? Like any big party, nothing is more interesting than seeing who sits where and next to whom.

Well, this says a lot: Tech leaders such as X’s Elon Musk, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Google’s Sundar Pichai had better seats at Monday’s presidential inauguration than Cabinet members, governors and other experienced public servants.

In fact, some Republican governors — Florida’s Ron DeSantis, Georgia’s Brian Kemp, Indiana’s Mike Braun, Mississippi’s Tate Reeves and Virginia’s Glenn Youngkin — were sent to an overflow room while the tech guys had prime seats right behind Trump.

Apple CEO Tim Cook was seated next to Kristi Noem, Trump’s nominee for homeland security.

On MSNBC, host Rachel Maddow said, “How is this happening? Why are people with tons of money up on the dais with Cabinet nominees and family members?”

MSNBC’s Joy Reid said, “It is a message. And I think it and I think they are up there for the very reason that you probably think they’re up there.”

Newsweek’s Jesus Mesa wrote, “For those paying attention to the details of the seating order, the symbolism is hard to miss.”

The Atlantic’s Michael Scherer and Ashley Parker wrote, “The scene announced a remarkable new dynamic in Washington: Far more so than in his first term, the ultra-wealthy — and tech billionaires in particular — are embracing Trump. And the new president is happy to entertain their courtship, setting up the possibility that Trump’s second turn in the White House could be shaped by person-to-person transactions with business and tech executives — a new kind of American oligarchy.”

They added, “Like nearly every entity that has tried and failed to bend Trump to its will — his party, his former rivals, his partners in Congress, and his former aides among them — the tech elites largely seem to have decided that they’re better off seeking Trump’s favor.”

The Washington Post’s Michael Birnbaum and Cat Zakrzewski wrote, “It was a powerful sign of the role of wealth under the 47th president. Under the next administration, technology CEOs and founders stand to grow their riches even more, as Trump promises to steer resources to favorites and offers up a personal approach to who gets what.”

Not only are these tech leaders, but they are beyond wealthy.

Slate’s Alexander Sammon wrote, “The image could not have been sharper: The very richest people in the world — in fact, the very richest men in the history of humanity — are welcome in Trumpworld. Trump, in all his populist bombast, has long made it clear that he would be taking care of his own in his second term as president, and vice versa: The billionaire class, once uneasy with the president, has now embraced him fully.”

As many noted, Trump’s second inauguration will be remembered for the tech bros as opposed to those with painted faces and MAGA hats. The fact that the heads of places such as X and Facebook were on the stage at all was unthinkable not that long ago.

As The Associated Press’ Ali Swenson put it: “That’s a shift from tradition, especially for a president who has characterized himself as a champion of the working class. Seats so close to the president are usually reserved for the president’s family, past presidents and other honored guests.”

Now they are reserved for those who through their finances, endorsements and messages helped get Trump into the White House.

Sammon wrote, “While the seating chart made it clear that the cartoonishly rich get pride of place in Trump’s America, his speech made it just as clear that few others are.”

Speaking of Musk …

What the heck was the gesture he gave after a speech on Monday?

Number of the day

19: That’s the number of former Fox News hosts, commentators, on-air medical experts, producers and other personnel who will have official roles in Donald Trump’s second term as president, according to The New York Times’ Michael M. Grynbaum, who adds, “Never before has a single media organization exported so many alumni to a president’s day-one cabinet and staff.”

It’s not uncommon for there to be a revolving door between TV and the White House, but 19?! That says a lot — about Trump and about the network that helped make (and continues to support) Trump.

But Jay Wallace, president and executive editor of Fox News Media, told Grymbaum, “When push comes to shove, we will want answers to our questions on the issues of the day. We don’t view this coverage any differently than any other administration we’ve pressed for answers over the last 28 years.”

Let’s see if Fox News’ coverage backs up Wallace’s words.

Grynbaum also reported that Wallace and Suzanne Scott, the chief executive of Fox News Media, had dinner with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Jan. 7, although it’s not unusual and it is probably journalistically sound for TV news executives to meet with the incoming president of the United States.

Notable pieces as Donald Trump begins his second term as president

TikTok’s roller coaster weekend

A message reading “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now” is displayed from the TikTok app on a cell phone screen on Saturday. (AP Photo/Andy Bao)

It’s gone. It’s back. But for how long? You almost need a good TikTok video to explain exactly what’s going on with TikTok.

The weekend started with the Supreme Court ruling against the social media app. The court upheld the federal law — which cited national security concerns — that said TikTok would be shut down by Sunday because it had not been divested from its Chinese owner, ByteDance. Not waiting until Sunday’s deadline, TikTok shut down on its own in the U.S. on Saturday, telling would-be users, “A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.”

But 12 hours later, TikTok was back and running again. It told users, “Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!”

That reversal came Sunday after Trump announced he would issue an executive order after he became president to delay enforcement of the divest-or-ban law.

So now what?

After taking office Monday, Trump signed an executive order to delay enforcing a federal ban on TikTok for at least 75 days.

The New York Times’ David McCabe wrote, “The order … instructs the attorney general not to take any action to enforce the law so that his administration has ‘an opportunity to determine the appropriate course forward.’ The order could immediately face legal challenges, including over whether a president has the power to halt enforcement of a federal law. Companies subject to the law may determine that the order does not provide a shield from legal liability.”

McCabe added, “By seeking to override the federal law, Mr. Trump raised serious questions about the limits of presidential power and the rule of law in the United States. Some lawmakers and legal experts have expressed concerns about the legality of an executive order, particularly in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling that upheld the law on Friday and the national security concerns that prompted legislators to draft it in the first place.”

TikTok CEO Shou Chew was in Washington for Trump’s inauguration and was seen at many of the festivities. Mediaite’s Diana Falzone spoke to a source who said Chew and TikTok VP Michael Beckerman were at Trump’s private candlelight dinner held at the National Building Museum on Sunday. The source said the two were “making the rounds last night; making a big argument for TikTok. They were schmoozing and speaking to anyone they could, handing out cards.”

CNN settles case

Late last week, CNN settled a lawsuit that was brought by a former veteran who said the network had defamed him. Zachary Young said CNN, in a November 2021 story, falsely accused him of participating in a “black market” and charging exorbitant prices to evacuate Afghans out of Afghanistan following the American withdrawal.

A Florida jury awarded Young $5 million, and then CNN settled the case for an undisclosed amount before the jury decided on punitive damages.

The New York Times’ Michael M. Grynbaum reported, “The location of the trial, in a Florida county where Mr. Trump won roughly three-quarters of the vote in 2024, was considered a disadvantage for CNN, whose coverage has been vilified by Mr. Trump and his supporters. Mr. Trump’s lawsuit against ABC, which was ultimately settled, was also filed in Florida.”

The Washington Post’s Erik Wemple wrote in one piece, “The case is no Dominion Voting Systems v. Fox News. It concerns a single broadcast story and a web article, as opposed to weeks of false and distorted coverage. And it appears unlikely to tilt the First Amendment environment in which journalists now ply their trade. The proceedings, however, do take us right inside the sausage of CNN’s multilayered review process for the Young story, where profanities reside — many of them directed at the subject of a pending story.”

In another piece, Wemple wrote, “… the case isn’t a blockbuster. It encompasses a single segment, a single online article, a single security contractor and little prospect for a groundbreaking legal precedent. The woeful performance of CNN journalists on the witness stand, however, juices the impact of Young v. CNN. They stumbled under questioning; they failed to defend a key wording choice; and in certain instances, as in the case of Lillis, they appeared clueless about the impact of their own massive network, which reaches more than 70 million households in the United States.”

In a statement, a CNN spokesperson said, “We remain proud of our journalists and are 100% committed to strong, fearless and fair-minded reporting at CNN, though we will of course take what useful lessons we can from this case.”

Chappelle’s powerful message

Comedian David Chappelle delivered an unheard-of 17-minute monologue (believed to be a record) when he hosted “Saturday Night Live” this past weekend.

At the end, Chappelle told a touching story about the late President Jimmy Carter. He then spoke to Trump, saying, “The presidency is no place for petty people.” He asked the incoming president to remember that whether people “voted for you or not, they’re all counting on you. Whether they like you or not, they’re all counting on you. The whole world is counting on you.”

He then said to Trump, “I mean it when I say this: Good luck. Please, do better next time. Please, all of us, do better next time. Do not forget your humanity and please have empathy for displaced people, whether they’re in the Palisades or Palestine.”

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