Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg joined US President-elect Donald Trump for dinner at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida on Wednesday, where the future president’s adviser said the tech billionaire “wants to support America’s national renewal”.
The 40-year-old tech mogul, who leads the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has been carefully trying to mend ties with Trump.
The relationship between the two men has been tense over the years, as Facebook was among the social media networks that banned Trump after the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
But on Wednesday, a Meta spokesperson said: “Mark was grateful for the invitation to join President Trump for dinner and the opportunity to meet with members of his team about the incoming administration.”
The spokesman added in a statement that this is an important time for the future of American innovation.
It was not immediately clear whether billionaire Elon Musk, a close Trump ally who previously challenged Zuckerberg to a cage match, also attended the dinner, although he has been a frequent attendee at Mar-a-Lago since the election.
said Stephen Miller, Trump’s incoming deputy chief of staff for policy Fox News on Wednesday that Zuckerberg “has been very clear about his desire to be an advocate and participant in this change that we’re seeing across America.”
“He has made clear that he wants to support the national renewal of America under President Trump’s leadership,” Miller said in a television interview.
While they tread cautiously in Trump’s first term, tech giants were quick to applaud the Republican’s election victory this time around, and Zuckerberg was among those offering congratulations.
Before the election, Zuckerberg suspended election-related charitable giving, and Meta modified its algorithms to reduce political content.
Zuckerberg had previously contributed large sums to fund non-profit organizations working to support US election infrastructure during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Trump seized donations after his 2020 loss to Joe Biden, falsely claiming they were part of a conspiracy to change the election.