Mark Zuckerberg meets Trump at Mar-a-Lago
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The meeting was initiated by Mr Zuckerberg, who has had a strained relationship with Trump over the past decade.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
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PALM BEACH, Florida - Mr Mark Zuckerberg on Nov 27 met US President-elect Donald Trump in a rare face-to-face encounter, the latest attempt by the Meta CEO to establish a positive rapport with Trump.
The meeting, confirmed by three people with knowledge of the matter, was initiated by Mr Zuckerberg, who has had a strained relationship with Trump over the past decade.
Trump, who has long maintained that Meta has unfairly restrained him and other conservatives across its social media apps, has lobbed broadsides against Mr Zuckerberg on social media and during stump speeches.
Mr Zuckerberg flew in to West Palm Beach, Florida, on Nov 26 evening before joining Trump at his hotel and club, Mar-a-Lago, on Nov 27, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the meeting.
The two men largely exchanged pleasantries, with Mr Zuckerberg congratulating Trump on winning the presidency.
After the early afternoon meeting, Trump and Mr Zuckerberg planned to have dinner at Trump’s hotel later that evening, the people said.
“It’s an important time for the future of American innovation,” a Meta representative said in a statement.
“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.”
But Mr Zuckerberg’s overtures come as the CEO seeks to insulate Meta – which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp – from any potential blowback from the incoming administration.
Meta has long been a target of conservatives in Washington; some in Congress have called for reining in what they see as censorship of conservative viewpoints.
And Trump has personally called for Mr Zuckerberg to be jailed in retaliation for “plotting against” him during the 2020 election.
As executives at Meta recognised Trump’s potential for victory in the 2024 election, Mr Zuckerberg has spent the past 18 months trying to repair the relationship.
Mr Zuckerberg had at least two private phone calls with Trump over the course of the summer, according to two people with knowledge of the talks, one of which saw the tech executive wishing Trump well and “praying” for him after the assassination attempt on his life
And in an interview over the summer, Mr Zuckerberg said Trump looked like a “badass” after pumping his fist to the crowd when he was shot at by a would-be assassin during a rally in Pennsylvania.
Other tech executives, like Mr Elon Musk, who has stumped for the conservative movement and given hundreds of millions of dollars to the Trump campaign
(Mr Musk and Mr Zuckerberg have developed such a tense relationship that the two spent 2023 challenging one another to a physical fight.)
But executives at Meta are hopeful that Mr Zuckerberg can launch a new relationship with Trump by taking a softer touch with the incoming administration.
Mr Stephen Miller, Trump’s incoming deputy chief of staff for policy, characterised the meeting a bit differently than did Meta.
Mr Miller told Fox News on Nov 27 that Mr Zuckerberg “has been very clear about his desire to be a supporter of, and a participant in, this change we’re seeing all around America and the world, with this reform movement that Donald Trump is leading”. NYTIMES
