Mark Zuckerberg dines with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago | EUROtoday

Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg has visited Donald Trump at his resort in Mar-a-Lago – a matter of months after the president-elect threatened him with jail.

In August, Trump wrote in a e book that the tech billionaire would “spend the rest of his life in prison” if he tried to intrude within the 2024 US election.

But Trump subsequently softened his place, telling a podcast in October it was “nice” Mr Zuckerberg was “staying out of the election”, and thanking him for a private telephone name after he confronted an assassination try.

“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,” a Meta spokesperson advised the BBC.

“It’s an important time for the future of American Innovation,” the assertion added.

Relations between the 2 males haven’t at all times been so cordial – however have been steadily enhancing.

Trump was thrown off Meta platforms Facebook and Instagram in 2021 for what the corporate referred to as his “praise for people engaged in violence at the Capitol on January 6.”

That suspension was lifted two years later.

In August this yr, Mr Zuckerberg spoke of his remorse at de-promoting content material referring to allegations about Joe Biden’s son Hunter, which had been a right-wing speaking level within the US previous to the 2020 presidential election.

He additionally mentioned he would make no extra contributions to help electoral infrastructure, after a $400m (£302m) donation in 2020 was seen by some on-line as a method of skirting donation limits.

Mr Zuckerberg mentioned his donations had been designed to be non-partisan, and his purpose was to be impartial in elections.

It just isn’t identified what the 2 males mentioned over dinner at Trump’s Florida house.

Meta has although been going through rising regulation in recent times, together with an ongoing antitrust case introduced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2020.

Even so, Mr Zuckerberg’s apparently enhancing relations with the president-elect have been completely eclipsed by Trump’s closeness to a different tech titan: Elon Musk.

Trump’s close-knit relationship with the X proprietor resulted in additional than $100m (£79m) in marketing campaign donations, together with endorsements from the billionaire and his superfans.

Their relationship is so tight it has induced some to dub Musk his “First Buddy”, a play on the president’s spouse being named First Lady.

It has finally led to the billionaire being positioned accountable for a brand new Department of Government Efficiency (Doge)which can give him not solely affect over authorities coverage, however the very regulation threatening his enterprise empire.