Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg dined with United States President-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Wednesday, signaling a possible rapprochement between the two men.
The 40-year-old tech tycoon “wants to support America’s national renewal,” as the nation navigates a changing political landscape, according to an adviser to the 78-year-old future president.
Previously, the Republican president-to-be and the owner of the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp have had a tumultuous relationship, especially since Facebook and other social media platforms followed Trump on January 6, 2021 at the US Capitol. He was suspended after his infamous attack.
However, 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.”
In a statement, the spokesperson added that this is an important time for the future of American innovation.
It wasn’t clear whether Tesla CEO and Trump’s new billionaire bestie Elon Musk, who previously challenged Zuckerberg to a cage match fight, also attended the dinner, though he has been mar-a-a-la since the election. Often present in Lagos.
Stephen Miller, Trump’s incoming deputy chief of staff for policy, said Fox News On Wednesday that Zuckerberg “has been very clear about his desire to support and participate in the change that we are seeing across America.”
“He has made it clear that he wants to support the national renewal of America under President Trump,” Miller said in a televised interview.
Treading cautiously in Trump’s first term, tech titans were quick to applaud the Republican’s electoral victory this time around, with Zuckerberg among those congratulating him.
Before the election, Zuckerberg blocked election-related philanthropy and Meta modified its algorithm to reduce political content.
Zuckerberg previously contributed large sums of money to fund nonprofits working to support US election infrastructure during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The donations were seized by Trump after his 2020 loss to Joe Biden, falsely alleging that they were part of a conspiracy to alter the election.