Meta has donated $1 million to Donald Trump’s inaugural fund, the company confirmed Thursday.
The donation, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, appears to be the latest effort by the social media company and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, to improve relations with the president-elect, with Zuckerberg’s comments on Trump’s comments on Mar. It took place a few weeks after he dined with the president. -Lago.
Mehta confirmed the donation to the Guardian on Thursday, but did not provide details about the reason for the donation.
At a dinner at Mar-a-Lago last month, Mehta congratulated the president-elect on his victory and the two “had a generally pleasant chat,” according to the New York Times.
Mr. Zuckerberg also met with Mr. Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, Sen. Marco Rubio, and incoming White House advisers, including Stephen Miller, the Wall Street Journal reported.
A spokesperson for Facebook’s parent company, Meta, said at the time that Zuckerberg “appreciated the invitation to dinner with President Trump and the opportunity to meet members of his team about the incoming administration.” told the BBC.
“This is a critical time for the future of American innovation,” the statement added.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Mr. Zuckerberg’s team informed Mr. Trump’s inaugural team of Mr. Mehta’s plans to donate to his inaugural fund before meeting the president-elect at a dinner at Mar-a-Lago. .
Mehta’s donation likely marks a shift for the company, as it has not contributed anything to Trump’s 2017 and Biden’s 2021 inaugural funds.
Relations between Mr. Trump and Mr. Mehta have been strained in recent years. President Trump accused the company of unfairly censoring him and other conservative voices on its platform.
In March of this year, President Trump called Facebook “the enemy of the people” in an interview with CNBC. He said: “I think Facebook has been very dishonest. I think Facebook has been very detrimental to our country, especially when it comes to elections.”
After the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, Meta stopped Trump from posting on the platform. Two years later, in 2023, the company reinstated his account with certain restrictions. However, those restrictions were lifted in July this year.
Earlier that month, Trump mentioned Zuckerberg in a post on Truth Social, saying that if elected in November, “election fraudsters” would go to jail.
“If elected President, I will pursue election fraudsters at unprecedented levels and send them to prison for long periods of time,” Trump wrote. “We already know who you are. Stop! Zuckerbucks, watch out!”
And in a book titled “Save America,” Trump said that during the 2020 election, Zuckerberg “conspired” against him and “guided” Facebook against him. he accused.
However, over the summer, the New York Times reported that Mark Zuckerberg and Trump had had several private phone calls. In one of those calls, Mr. Zuckerberg reportedly wished Mr. Trump well in the wake of the July 13 assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and offered a message for him: I’m praying,” he said.
In a July interview with Bloomberg, Mr. Zuckerberg publicly praised Mr. Trump’s reaction to the Pennsylvania assassination attempt, when he stood up and began waving his fist in the air, calling the moment “I thought this was going to happen.” “One of the worst things I’ve ever seen.” life”.
In late August, Zuckerberg expressed regret for some of his past political activities in a letter to Congress, saying he hopes the Biden administration will put pressure on Meta in 2021 that he can convince. They accused the government of censoring content related to the coronavirus.
He is not endorsing any candidate in the 2024 election and has said he wants to distance himself from politics.
Trump said on a podcast in October that Zuckerberg’s favorability rating was “a lot better than it was,” adding: “I actually believe he’s not going to be in the election, which is great.” .
After Trump won the presidential election in November, Zuckerberg congratulated Trump and said he looked forward to working with the president-elect.
“We have great opportunities ahead of us as a nation, and I look forward to working with you and your administration,” he wrote.
Earlier this month, there were reports that Zuckerberg was seeking an “active role” in the Trump administration’s technology policy decisions.
Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs and former British deputy prime minister, added that Zuckerberg wants to be part of “the conversations that any government needs to have about maintaining American leadership in technology.”
