Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has made headlines with his recent comments about former President Donald Trump, calling him a “badass” and praising his resilience while also addressing the role of political content on Facebook in the upcoming election.
Bloomberg reports that in a recent interview, Meta (formerly Facebook) CEO Mark Zuckerberg shared his thoughts on former President Donald Trump’s response to being shot, describing it as “badass” and “inspiring.” Zuckerberg’s comments, made during a discussion for “The Circuit with Emily Chang,” have drawn attention to the complex relationship between Silicon Valley leaders and political figures.
Zuckerberg specifically referred to Trump’s actions after being shot, stating, “Seeing Donald Trump get up after getting shot in the face and pump his fist in the air with the American flag is one of the most badass things I’ve ever seen in my life.” He further elaborated on the emotional impact of such resilience, saying, “On some level as an American, it’s like hard to not get kind of emotional about that spirit and that fight, and I think that that’s why a lot of people like the guy.”
Despite these comments, Zuckerberg was quick to clarify that he is not endorsing Trump or his presumed opponent, President Joe Biden. He stated that he is “not planning” to be involved in the election in any way. That seems quite a stretch after the billionaire’s notorious “Zuckerbucks” campaign. However, Zuckerberg’s remarks come at a time when several prominent figures in Silicon Valley, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, have shown increasing support for the former president.
The Meta CEO also addressed the role of Facebook in the upcoming election. Zuckerberg revealed that the company is making changes in response to user feedback, stating, “The main thing that I hear from people is that they actually want to see less political content on our services because they come to our services to connect with people.” As a result, Meta is already recommending less political content to its users. Zuckerberg predicted, “I think you’re going to see our services play less of a role in this election than they have in the past.”
This shift in content strategy comes after a tumultuous period for Meta’s relationship with Trump. In the wake of the events of January 6, 2021, Meta suspended Trump from both Facebook and Instagram for two years. At the time, Zuckerberg stated that Trump was using his account to “undermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power to his elected successor.”
While Trump’s accounts have since been reinstated, the former president has indicated that he hasn’t forgiven Meta or Zuckerberg. Trump has called Facebook the “enemy of the people” and has suggested potential retaliation if re-elected. In a recent post on Truth Social, Trump appeared to warn Zuckerberg, stating, “All I can say is that if I’m elected President, we will pursue Election Fraudsters at levels never seen before, and they will be sent to prison for long periods of time. We already know who you are. DON’T DO IT! ZUCKERBUCKS, be careful!”
The interview also touched on the topic of competition in the social media landscape, particularly regarding TikTok. When asked about his stance on banning the Chinese-owned video app, Zuckerberg declined to comment, saying, “That’s above my pay grade.” However, he expressed confidence in Meta’s position in the market, stating, “I think we’re doing pretty well here. We’re gaining market share. So I don’t know. They’ll go do what they need to do but I think we’re gonna be fine and we’re gonna continue doing well in this space either way.”
Read more at Bloomberg here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
