Mark Zuckerberg’s company Meta donated $1 million to US President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural fund, The Wall Street Journal reported. This donation marks a change in the relationship between Zuckerberg and Trump, which has historically been strained, especially following criticism from Zuckerberg during the election campaign.
The contribution, confirmed by Meta, which includes the platforms Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, It comes after a campaign in which Trump warned Zuckerberg of possible retaliation if he tried to influence the election.
Efforts to woo the incoming administration They represent a balancing act by CEOs of technology companies, whose companies have often been the target of the ire of Trump and other Republicans and whose employees tend to be left-wing, according to the newspaper.
Now, with Republicans set to take control of the White House and both houses of Congress, and calling for new regulation of the technology sector, Some executives are adopting a new stance toward Trump, the newspaper quotes.
The newspaper recalls that the founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezosa long-time enemy of the president-elect, congratulated Trump after the election and recently said that “actually feeling very optimistic this time” regarding the Republican government.
Zuckerberg’s efforts to strengthen ties, which began years earlier, included a dinner last November with Trump at his private club. Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach (Florida). The dinner capped a two-day series of meetings of Zuckerberg’s advisers at Mar-a-Lago.
Meta senior policymakers Joel Kaplan and Kevin Martin and Republican strategist Brian Baker met with incoming White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, according to people familiar with the matter, says The Wall Street Journal.
Zuckerberg and his advisors also met with Senator Marco Rubio, Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, as well as three incoming senior White House advisers: Stephen Miller, Vince Haley y James Blair.
Federal campaign finance reports show Zuckerberg has supported congressional candidates from both parties over the years and has largely stayed out of the presidential races.
According to public records consulted by the newspaper, neither Zuckerberg nor Meta donated to Trump’s inaugural fund in 2017 or President Joe Biden’s in 2021.
FP