With Donald Trump just weeks away from returning to the White House, tech billionaire Mark Zuckerberg is working to repair his relationship with the president-elect. The latest attempt to do so comes in the form of a $1 million donation from Meta to Trump’s inaugural fund.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on the donation from Meta, which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram. The company confirmed the contribution to NBC News on Thursday.
Meta’s donation comes on the heels of Zuckerberg’s dinner with Trump at Mar-a-Lago last month, as the Meta CEO tries to rebuild bridges with Trump. With pressure mounting for lawmakers to enact more stringent regulations on the tech industry, a number of Silicon Valley billionaires have been trying to curry favor with Trump — some more successfully than others.
Trump and Zuckerberg, in particular, have a rocky history. After the Jan. 6 Capitol attack in 2021, Zuckerberg banned Trump from Facebook, saying the risks of allowing Trump to remain on the platform “are simply too great.” Meta lifted that ban in 2023. The relationship between the two men has remained tense since then, with Trump baselessly accusing Zuckerberg of trying to influence the 2020 race and threatening to prosecute him if he did “anything illegal” to influence 2024 election.
After the first attempt on Trump’s life, Zuckerberg praised the Republican’s response in the immediate aftermath, saying, “At some level as an American, it’s hard to not, like, get kind of emotional about that spirit and that fight.” Zuckerberg declined to endorse a candidate in the election, however, drawing a contrast with his fellow tech billionaire Elon Musk, who fully threw his social and financial influence behind Trump after the first assassination attempt. It remains to be seen whether Zuckerberg’s efforts to get back into Trump’s good graces will work. For now, Meta’s million-dollar donation means the company will have access to tickets with special perks for donors and fundraisers. The New York Times previously reported that Trump’s inaugural committee is offering donors who contribute $1 million or raise $2 million access to multiple events in the days leading up to the inauguration on Jan. 20.
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.
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