WSJ: Meta donated a million dollars to Trumpʼs inauguration

Author:
Oleksandra Opanasenko
Date:

Meta, the company that owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has donated a million dollars to the inauguration fund

After the election of a US president, an inaugural committee is formed, which may accept donations. The committee plans and finances all inaugural events, including opening ceremonies, parades, galas, and balls (except for the swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol and the dinner in honor of the president and vice president of the United States).
of US President-elect Donald Trump.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) writes about it.

According to a WSJ source, company representatives informed the foundation of the plans to donate in November. Then Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was invited to dinner at Trumpʼs Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. Before the dinner, Zuckerberg showed Trump a pair of Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses and then gave them away.

In addition, Zuckerberg and his advisers met with Senator Marco Rubio, whom Trump nominated for secretary of state, as well as three senior White House advisers: Stephen Miller, Vince Haley and James Blair. Metaʼs senior policy directors Joel Kaplan and Kevin Martin, as well as Republican strategist Brian Baker, met with new White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.

During the presidential campaign, Mark Zuckerberg did not support any of the candidates. But his relationship with Donald Trump has been rocky in recent years.

After the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, Facebook banned Trump, saying that his posts encouraged violence. In early 2023, the former presidentʼs Facebook and Instagram accounts were restored, but with certain restrictions. Already in July, Meta removed these restrictions.

Trump himself, in his book "Saving America", published in 2024, promised Zuckerberg that he "will spend the rest of his life in prison" if he tries to "do something illegal" again, like others "who commit fraud in the presidential election 2024".

Trump was referring to a $400 million donation that Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, made to two nonprofits to help government election commissions across the country during the 2020 election amid the coronavirus pandemic. At the time, Republicans accused Zuckerberg of trying to boost Democratic turnout in swing states.

So, as the WSJ writes, Metaʼs donation may symbolize a new step in the relationship between Zuckerberg and Trump and an attempt to repair them. After the assassination attempt on Trump in July 2024, Zuckerberg noted Trumpʼs reaction to the gunshot, calling it "one of the coolest things" he had ever seen.

The WSJ writes that in private conversations, Zuckerberg said he was optimistic about Trumpʼs future presidency.

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