Meta Donates $1m to Trump’s inauguration fund
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has contributed $1 million (£786,000) to the inauguration fund for President-elect Donald Trump, marking a significant gesture from the tech giant. The donation comes as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg seeks to rebuild bridges with Trump, following years of tension between the two.
In November, Zuckerberg dined with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort, signaling an effort to mend relations. The relationship has been fraught since Trump accused Facebook of being “anti-Trump” in 2017. Notably, Meta did not make similar donations to President Joe Biden’s inauguration fund in 2020 or to Trump’s first inauguration in 2016.
Inauguration funds, typically used for events surrounding the swearing-in of a new president, often draw scrutiny as attempts to curry favor with incoming administrations. Meta confirmed the donation to multiple outlets, with CBS and The Wall Street Journal first reporting the news.
Trump is set to be inaugurated as the 47th U.S. president on January 20.
A History of Strained Relations
The dynamic between Trump and Zuckerberg has been anything but smooth. Tensions escalated after Facebook and Instagram suspended Trump’s accounts in 2021, citing his praise for individuals involved in the January 6 Capitol riots. Trump subsequently labeled Facebook “an enemy of the people” and criticized its practices, claiming they unfairly benefited from policies targeting competitors like TikTok.
Zuckerberg, for his part, has faced backlash from conservatives. In a letter to Republican lawmakers in August, he expressed regret for bowing to pressure from the Biden administration to moderate content during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trump’s rhetoric against Zuckerberg has been harsh, with the president-elect suggesting in a September-published book that Zuckerberg could face legal consequences if he intervened in the 2024 election. However, Trump appeared to soften his stance in October, calling Zuckerberg’s lack of involvement in the election “nice” and thanking him for a personal phone call following an assassination attempt on Trump.
Contrast with Elon Musk’s Relationship
Despite this thawing of relations, Zuckerberg remains distant from Trump compared to Elon Musk. The Tesla CEO and owner of X (formerly Twitter) has been dubbed Trump’s “First Buddy” due to his extensive campaign donations. Musk’s close relationship with the president-elect has led to his appointment as head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (Doge).
Meanwhile, the once-speculated cage fight between Zuckerberg and Musk appears to be off, leaving their rivalry simmering but unresolved. As Meta’s unprecedented donation to Trump’s inauguration fund raises eyebrows, it underscores the evolving and complex ties between the tech industry and political power in the U.S.
