On Wednesday night, Trump and Zuckerberg shared a Thanksgiving eve meal at the president-elect's Mar-a-Lago resort. Trump previously threatened to jail the Meta CEO if he won the 2024 election, illustrating just how important their tête-à -tête might be.
Trump and his conservative allies have long criticized Zuckerberg, putting the head of one of the nation's largest companies under a microscope at a critical time.
"It's an important time for the future of American Innovation. 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," a spokesperson for Meta previously said in a statement to Business Insider, confirming the dinner.
Meta is facing an antitrust trial next year. There's bipartisan support for a major rewrite of Section 230, a law that shields Big Tech companies from liability. Zuckerberg has previously supported changing Section 230, but his company could be dramatically affected by how the law is changed.
Like many in Silicon Valley, Zuckerberg quickly expressed concern for Trump after he narrowly survived a July assassination attempt. Trump reciprocated by falsely claiming Zuckerberg endorsed him, but that was a major departure from threatening to jail the tech executive if he tried to influence the 2024 campaign.
Here's a look at how their relationship evolved over the years.
Trump and Zuckerberg have met on multiple occasions.
Nice meeting with Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook in the Oval Office today.
"Mark is in Washington, D.C., meeting with policymakers to hear their concerns and talk about future internet regulation. He also had a good, constructive meeting with President Trump at the White House today," a Meta spokesperson said at the time.
"Nice meeting with Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook in the Oval Office today," Trump said of their meeting.
Trump and Zuckerberg met again the following month.
PayPal Mafia member Peter Thiel also attended the private dinner with Trump and Zuckerberg.
"We talked about a number of things that were on his mind, and some of the topics that you read about in the news around our work," Zuckerberg said of the dinner in an interview with "CBS This Morning."
Zuckerberg was in DC to testify before Congress about Facebook's cryptocurrency, Libra.
Trump has said he would've banned Facebook while president, but Zuckerberg "kept calling" him.
Trump congratulated Nigeria for its ban on Twitter, which the country has since lifted.
"More COUNTRIES should ban Twitter and Facebook for not allowing free and open speech — all voices should be heard," Trump said in a statement at the time.
"Perhaps I should have done it while I was President," he added. "But Zuckerberg kept calling me and coming to the White House for dinner telling me how great I was."
Nigeria lifted its ban on Twitter after seven months.
Trump has lambasted Zuckerberg for indefinitely suspending his Facebook account after his remarks contributing to the January 6 Capitol insurrection.
Donald Trump (left) and the Facebook logo on mobile (right).
"His decision to use his platform to condone rather than condemn the actions of his supporters at the Capitol building has rightly disturbed people in the US and around the world," Zuckerberg wrote in a post at the time. "We removed these statements yesterday because we judged that their effect -- and likely their intent -- would be to provoke further violence."
Meta in 2023 reinstated Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts.
Meta uses public Instagram and Facebook photos to train its AI models
Anadolu
In the time since the suspension, Facebook's Oversight Board examined the decision.
Eventually, Meta decided to reinstate Trump's account.
It did so while putting "new guardrails in place to deter repeat offenses," including bigger penalties for any violations of Meta's rules.
As of July 2024, the company has lifted its final restrictions on Trump's account in the run-up to the November presidential election.
Meta removed "heightened suspension penalties" from Trump's account in July.
"In assessing our responsibility to allow political expression, we believe that the American people should be able to hear from the nominees for President on the same basis," Meta said in a statement at the time. "As a result, former President Trump, as the nominee of the Republican Party, will no longer be subject to the heightened suspension penalties."
Meta added that it would "review accounts subject to this protocol on a periodic basis to determine whether heightened suspension penalties for Community Standards violations remain appropriate."
Trump has expressed interest in suing Facebook.
Trump would later sue Facebook, Google, and Twitter.
Scott Olson/Getty
"We should be suing Google and Facebook and all that," he said in a June 2019 interview with Fox Business. "Which, perhaps we will."
Trump made the remarks in the context of fines the European Union has levied against big tech firms like Google for breaching the bloc's antitrust rules.
In 2021, Trump did just that.
A combination photo of Facebook Google and Twitter logos.
"Seeing Donald Trump get up after getting shot in the face and pump his fist in the air with the American flag is one of the most badass things I've ever seen in my life," Zuckerberg told Bloomberg of the attempted Trump assassination. "On some level as an American, it's like hard to not get kind of emotional about that spirit and that fight, and I think that that's why a lot of people like the guy."
But the Meta CEO said he wasn't planning to endorse any candidate for president this election cycle.
Trump says Zuckerberg called him to apologize after Meta's AI chatbot denied the assassination attempt happened.
Meta AI's new integration gives you search suggestions.
Business Insider
When asked about the shooting, Meta AI, in some widely-circulated instances, claimed Trump wasn't shot.
"He actually apologized; he said they'd made a mistake," Trump said on "Mornings with Maria" on Fox Business. "He actually announced he's not going to support a Democrat because he can't because he respected me for what I did that day."
As for the Meta AI posts about the shooting, Meta said in a July blog post: "In both cases, our systems were working to protect the importance and gravity of this event. And while neither was the result of bias, it was unfortunate and we understand why it could leave people with that impression. That is why we are constantly working to make our products better and will continue to quickly address any issues as they arise."
Trump had threatened to imprison Zuckerberg if he's elected in November.
Trump has threatened "Zuckerbucks" with prison time if he's elected in November.
"We already know who you are. DON'T DO IT! ZUCKERBUCKS, be careful!" Trump wrote on Truth Social in July.
Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, donated roughly $400 million to nonprofits in 2020 to help state and local governments conduct a presidential election during an unprecedented pandemic. Republicans have remained furious over the donations. Meta has repeatedly tried to repair relationships, but many in the GOP remain incensed even though there's no evidence that the funds favored Democrats.
Amid continued criticism of his donations, Zuckerberg announced he would not make a similar contribution ahead of 2024.
Trump mentioned Zuckerberg in his book, "Save America," and didn't mince words.
Donald Trump appeared to threaten Mark Zuckerberg with prison time.
Michael Ciaglo/ Getty Images; Carlos Barria/ REUTERS
Politico reported that Trump included a picture of himself with the Meta CEO, with the caption, "He would bring his very nice wife to dinners, be as nice as anyone could be, while always plotting to install shameful Lock Boxes in a true PLOT AGAINST THE PRESIDENT."
It's unclear when Trump wrote the caption, though he appears to be referring to a $420 million contribution Zuckerberg and his wife made to fund election infrastructure in 2020.
Trump changed his mind on a TikTok ban, seemingly because of how it would likely benefit Meta.
Trump backed a TikTok ban while in office but now says he is "for TikTok" because the alternatives are Zuckerberg's Facebook and Instagram.
"Now that I'm thinking about it, I'm for TikTok because you need competition," Trump told Bloomberg Businessweek in July. "If you don't have TikTok, you have Facebook and Instagram, and that's, you know, that's Zuckerberg."
"There's a lot of good and there's a lot of bad with TikTok," he said. "But the thing I don't like is that without TikTok, you can make Facebook bigger. And I consider Facebook to be an enemy of the people."
Zuckerberg quickly congratulated Trump on his 2024 win
Zuckerberg was among many high-profile CEOs who quickly congratulated Donald Trump after news organizations projected the former president had won the 2024 election.
Screenshot/Threads
Like other major CEOs, Zuckerberg quickly praised Trump after it became apparent that the former president had won the 2024 election.
"Congratulations to President Trump on a decisive victory. We have great opportunities ahead of us as a country," Zuckerberg wrote on Threads on November 6. "Looking forward to working with you and your administration."
Trump and Zuckerberg share a pre-holiday meal
Trump's exclusive Mar-a-Lago club was the site of their meal.
Saul Martinez/Getty Images
Zuckerberg, a Meta spokesperson said, was invited to dine with Trump on Thanksgiving eve.
The Meta CEO traveled to Mar-a-Lago, Trump's Palm Beach club nicknamed "The Winter White House." Trump has been holding meetings there with potential cabinet picks and other top staffers as he prepares to retake the White House in January.
The New York Times reported that Zuckerberg "initiated" the meeting.
Some in Trump's orbit are taking notice of Zuckerberg's efforts.
"Mark Zuckerberg has been very clear about his desire to be a supporter of this and a participant in this change that we're seeing all around America, all around the world with this reform movement that Donald Trump is leading," longtime Trump advisor Stephen Miller, who will also return to the White House, told Fox News on Wednesday.
Miller cautioned, "We'll see what comes" of Zuckerberg's rapprochement, but made clear that the Meta CEO "understands" the change Trump is seeking.
from All Content from Business Insider https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-comments-about-facebook-mark-zuckerberg-feud-history-2024-7
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