Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg dined with President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Wednesday, marking a potential step toward improving relations after a history of disagreements over Facebook’s content moderation policies.
Renewing ties
“It’s an important time for the future of American Innovation,” Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said in a statement to The Verge.
“Mark was grateful for the invitation to join President Trump for dinner and the opportunity to meet with members of his team about the incoming Administration.”
The details of their conversation are unknown, but the meeting suggests that Trump may be softening his stance on Zuckerberg, as the CEO seeks to build a positive relationship with the incoming president.
Stephen Miller, Trump’s incoming deputy chief of staff for policy, told Fox News on Wednesday that Zuckerberg “has been very clear about his desire to be a supporter of and a participant in, this change that we’re seeing all around America,” AFP reported.
“He’s made clear that he wants to support the national renewal of America under President Trump’s leadership,” Miller said in a televised interview.
As Meta executives recognized Trump’s potential for a 2024 election victory, Zuckerberg reportedly spent the past 18 months working to repair their relationship. According to two sources familiar with the talks, the CEO had at least two private phone conversations with Trump over the summer, The New York Times reported.
During one call, Zuckerberg wished Trump well and said he was “praying” for him after the assassination attempt. In a subsequent interview, Zuckerberg praised Trump’s reaction to the incident, calling him a “badass” for pumping his fist to the crowd after the shooting attempt at a Pennsylvania rally.
Zuckerberg, along with other tech CEOs, congratulated Trump on his election win, expressing in a Threads post that he’s “looking forward to working with you and your administration.”
Patchy history
Before the election, Zuckerberg halted election-related philanthropy, and Meta modified its algorithms to limit political content, according to AFP. Previously, Zuckerberg had made significant donations to nonprofits supporting US electoral infrastructure during the COVID-19 pandemic.
These contributions were criticized by Trump after his 2020 loss to Joe Biden, with Trump alleging they were part of a scheme to sway the election.
Also, Facebook was among the social media platforms that banned Trump following the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
Zuckerberg’s relationship with Trump and his allies has been fraught with tension, largely due to Facebook’s content moderation policies, which Republicans argue disproportionately favor Democrats.
Trump, who has long claimed Meta unfairly censored him and other conservatives, has repeatedly criticized Zuckerberg, both on social media and during campaign speeches.
Trump even accused Zuckerberg of working against him in the 2020 election in his new book and warned he would “spend the rest of his life in prison” if he did it again. Trump launched the attack in his new coffee table book, “Save America.”
Net worths
Mark Zuckerberg is the fourth richest person in the world, with a net worth of $196.9 billion as of November 28, 2024, according to Forbes estimates. In contrast, Donald Trump has a net worth of $5.6 billion, ranking him as the 583rd richest person in the world.
