Meta has donated $1 million to Donald Trump's inaugural fund as CEO Mark Zuckerberg looks to win support for the president-elect more than a month before he takes office.
The $1.6 trillion owner of Facebook and Instagram acknowledged donating to the Post following an incident. The Wall Street Journal reported late Wednesday. This marks a departure from past practice for Mr. Zuckerberg's company, which has largely stayed out of presidential elections.
A Meta spokesperson declined further comment.
Zuckerberg visited Trump's Mar-a-Lago mansion in Florida last month.
The two reportedly had dinner, during which Trump was given a pair of Ray-Ban smart glasses by the tech mogul.
Before the dinner, Mr. Zuckerberg's representatives informed Mr. Trump's aides that Mr. Mehta planned to donate $1 million to the startup fund, the paper said.
According to public documents cited by the magazine, Meta made no contributions to President Trump's inaugural fund in 2017, nor did it contribute to the inaugural fund of President Joe Biden, who leaves office in four years.
Zuckerberg, who was banned from speaking about the president-elect on social media platforms in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, has had at least two private phone conversations over the summer in recent months. By doing so, he has aimed to repair relations with Mr. Trump.
The Facebook founder also publicly praised President Trump after an assassination attempt in July in which the president-elect was seen defiantly raising his fist with blood running down his face. Zuckerberg called the response “terrible.”
The deepening ties come after Trump, along with Zuckerberg's wife, Priscilla Chan, donated about $400 million to a nonprofit aimed at promoting voting during the pandemic, sending Zuckerberg to prison. This study is in contrast to the previous election campaign, which brought this idea to the surface.
Trump and his supporters accused the Meta boss of using Zuckerbucks to help Democrats, a charge the tech mogul denied.
Mr. Zuckerberg and Mr. Chan have sought to woo the Republican Party by hiring Republican strategist Brian Baker, who was tasked with explaining the $400 million in donations in 2020.
Zuckerberg wrote to the House Judiciary Committee in August that it was inappropriate for the Biden administration to pressure Facebook to censor coronavirus-related content.
Mr. Zuckerberg also promised Republican lawmakers that he would not make additional contributions to support election infrastructure.
“My goal is to be neutral and not to play any role, or even the appearance of playing a role,” Zuckerberg wrote.
The newspaper has reached out to Trump's transition team for comment.
Zuckerberg is one of several technology executives trying to warm up to Trump in the weeks before he begins his second term.
Last week, Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos said he was “very optimistic” about President Trump's second term, given the president-elect's pro-business, anti-regulation agenda. ”
Mr. Bezos, who is also Mr. Trump's foil, blocked the paper's editorial board from publishing a statement of support for Vice President Kamala Harris less than two weeks before the election, leading to several resignations at the paper. This led to a number of subscriber cancellations.
