Billionaire Mark Zuckerberg's company donates $1 million to Mr. Trump

Facebook and Instagram's parent company Meta announced a $1 million donation to US President-elect Donald Trump's inaugural committee, although it did not provide specific details.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks at an event in Menlo Park, California.

The New York Times reported on December 12 that Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, donated $1 million to the inauguration fund of US President-elect Donald Trump.

Meta did not provide details about the reason for the donation, which comes two weeks after the company's CEO Mark Zuckerberg traveled to Florida and dined with Mr Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

During the meeting, the two men had some friendly banter and Mr. Zuckerberg congratulated Mr. Trump on his election as president. Mr. Zuckerberg also had dinner with Mr. Marco Rubio, Mr. Trump's pick for secretary of state.

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A Meta spokesperson said at the time that Mr Zuckerberg was “grateful to receive the invitation to have dinner with President-elect Trump”.

Gifts to inaugural committees, which have no contribution limits, are a popular choice for businesses and individuals looking to curry favor with the new administration. Trump’s inaugural committee is offering top benefits to donors who contribute $1 million.

Mr. Zuckerberg is one of many tech business leaders who have sought to build direct relationships with Mr. Trump.

Even before last month’s election, Zuckerberg, along with Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, began reaching out to Trump, a move that experts say could benefit their businesses. Zuckerberg is worth $218.6 billion, according to Forbes, making him the fourth-richest person in the world.

Mr. Trump has previously had a tense relationship with Meta, accusing the company of restricting him and other conservatives on its apps. Following the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021, Meta blocked Mr. Trump from its platforms, although his accounts were later restored.

Mr Trump has also personally criticised Mr Zuckerberg, once saying the CEO should be jailed in retaliation for “conspiring against” him in the 2020 election.

However, in recent times, Mr. Zuckerberg has had at least two private phone calls with Mr. Trump. In one call, Mr. Zuckerberg wished Mr. Trump well and said he was “praying” for Mr. Trump after his assassination attempt.

In a letter to Congress in August, Mr. Zuckerberg publicly expressed regret for some of his past political activities. He said that in 2021, President Joe Biden’s administration “pressured” Meta to moderate more Covid-19 content than he was comfortable with.

Mr. Trump has 65 million followers on Facebook and Instagram. Mr. Trump’s team did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Meta’s donation.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/cong-ty-cua-ti-phu-mark-zuckerberg-quyen-gop-1-ti-usd-cho-ong-trump-185241212164812623.htm