Meta META CEO Mark Zuckerberg has much bigger fences to mend with President-elect Donald Trump than the Silicon Valley tech giants and other billionaires who have been making the trek to Mar-a-Lago since the November elections. Friday’s visit, reported by The New York Post, was Zuckerberg’s second meeting with Trump since the 2024 election.
Why It Matters: The Facebook founder’s relationship with Trump profoundly soured after Meta platforms banned outgoing President Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts after the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot. Meta lifted the remaining restrictions on Trump’s accounts in July.
As recently as March 2024, Trump labeled Facebook “a true Enemy of the People” on Truth Social, accusing the platform of election interference. In July 2024 Truth Social post, Trump vowed to jail Zuckerberg and other “election fraudsters” if elected. The GOP had it out for Zuckerberg’s $400 million “Zuckerbucks” initiative during the 2020 election cycle, a generosity he chose not to repeat in 2024.
Now, the tech billionaire seems to be recalibrating his stance.
All Is Forgiven
Over the summer, Zuckerberg reportedly had private phone conversations with Trump and has since made notable overtures, including a $1 million donation to Trump’s inaugural fund.
One of the latest and probably most consequential moves on Zuckerberg’s part was his recent decision to end third-party fact-checking on Facebook, ostensibly to restore “free speech” and to roll back Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives at Meta. The GOP in general and Trump in particular have expressed their how deeply they despise the concept of DEI.
In terms of fact-checking, another concept low on the incoming administration’s list, Zuckerberg said in a video last week. “It’s time to get back to our roots around free expression on Facebook and Instagram.”
The NY Times reported that inside Meta, the reaction to the changes has been divided with some employees celebrating the moves and others shocked. Several employees wrote that they were ashamed to work for Meta.
“Even though Facebook is as powerful as it is, it still had to bend the knee to Trump,” said Brian Boland, a former Facebook vice president, who left the company in 2020, reported CNBC on Saturday.
Zuckerberg, noted the NY Post, parked his Gulfstream G650 jet adjacent to Donald Trump’s iconic Boeing 757 “Trump Force One,” and was seen boarding the aircraft at Palm Beach International Airport following the meeting.
Benzinga contacted the Meta team for comment and has yet received a response.
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Photo: Courtesy of Anthony Quintano and Gage Skidmore on flickr
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