A leader on the left, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg now identifies as a libertarian who is hostile to government regulation and skeptical of efforts that claim to advance so-called “social justice.”
Zuckerberg now considers his political views to be more libertarian, or aligned with “classical liberalism” — fiscally conservative but socially liberal — and regrets hiring employees who tried to push him further to the left through their philanthropy, according to sources familiar with his thinking. said of The New York Times.
Zuckerberg has also been trying to repair his relationship with former President Donald Trump, having two cordial, one-on-one phone calls with him over the summer, according to sources.
First, Zuckerberg called Trump after the 45th President narrowly survived an assassination attempt while speaking at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13.
Zuckerberg praised Trump's response to the first assassination attempt in July, saying, “Watching Donald Trump stand up after getting shot in the face, raise the American flag and pump his fist in the air was one of the coolest things I've ever seen in my life,” Breitbart News reported.
“In a way, as an American, it's hard not to relate to that spirit and that fighting spirit, and I think that's why so many people like him,” the Mehta CEO added.
A few weeks later, Zuckerberg called Trump a second time to apologize after Mehta mistakenly removed an iconic image of the assassination attempt, according to a source familiar with the conversation. The New York Times.
However, the paper noted that Mehta's CEO “has not yet established a relationship with Vice President Kamala Harris.”
Zuckerberg, meanwhile, has chosen to stay out of Washington unless necessary, instead working behind the scenes to build relationships with politicians and hiring prominent Republican strategist Brian Baker to help him improve his standing in conservative media and among Republican lawmakers. The New York Times Reported.
Baker reportedly told Trump and his staff that Zuckerberg had no plans to make extravagant donations — which became known in 2020 as “Zuckerbucks” — ahead of the 2024 presidential election, according to a source familiar with the discussions. The New York Times.
A person close to Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, told the paper that the billionaire couple were surprised that their activism and philanthropy had backfired.
Following the George Floyd riots in the summer of 2020, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) employees reportedly demanded the Meta CEO resign from Facebook during a staff meeting, claiming that Zuckerberg did not want to censor Trump on social media.
According to the source, The New York Times This incident, and others like it, angered Zuckerberg and ultimately led him to withdraw from politics, the people said.
Zuckerberg isn't the only tech titan who has appeared to change over the years when it comes to politics.
Most notably, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who was once relatively apolitical, has bought Twitter, renamed it X, voiced the need to protect free speech, and announced his full support for President Trump ahead of the 2024 election.
Alana Mastangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow her at Facebook And X is Followetc. Instagram.
