Still Not Feeling Deceived Enough Yet? Try This One on for Size: Mark Zuckerberg's Meta Donating $1M to Trump Sparks Anger: 'A Disgrace'

 Mark Zuckerberg's Meta Donating $1M to Trump Sparks Anger: 'A Disgrace'

Facebook owner Meta has donated $1 million to Donald Trump's presidential inauguration committee, sparking anger from some liberal and conservative commentators online, along with some support.

The donation was first reported on Wednesday by The Wall Street Journal and confirmed to the publication by Meta, which billionaire Mark Zuckerberg runs. In November, Trump dined with Zuckerberg at his Mar-a-Lago resort, during which the Meta boss also met with Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who the incoming president nominated as his secretary of state.

Newsweek reached out to Meta and Trump's transition team for comment via email on Thursday outside of regular office hours.

Over the past few years, Zuckerberg has had a tempestuous relationship with Trump and his broader MAGA movement, which this donation could be intended to help mend.

Some Republicans argued that the $400 million donation that Zuckerberg and his wife gave to support election infrastructure during the pandemic ahead of the 2020 election, which they dubbed "Zuckerbucks," helped Biden win.

This fall, Trump included a picture of himself with Zuckerberg in a coffee-table book he published, which said the Meta CEO would "spend the rest of his life in prison" if he tried to rig the 2024 election.

In July, Trump wrote on Truth Social: "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 left-leaning Art Candee X account, which has 104,000 followers, condemned the donation posting: "Mark Zuckerberg's Meta is donating $1 million to Donald Trump's inaugural fund. Because of course he is. What a disgrace."

The move received a less than warm response from some conservative commentators, including Paul Szypula, who has 264,000 X followers. In a post on the platform, he wrote: "Zuckerberg certainly cannot be trusted. He's blatantly throwing money around in a lame attempt to curry favor with the Trump administration. I hope Trump takes the money and then Pam Bondi indicts Zuckerberg for election interference."

Ashley St. Clair, a conservative-leaning commentator with one million X followers, posted: "Mark Zuckerberg's career has never been about truth or building a good product—it's been about amassing power. His creation of one of the largest censorship algorithms reflects that, as does his recent pivot sensing a shift in the power axis. It is beyond foolish to trust him."

However, the move received a cautious welcome from self-identified Trump supporter Tara Bull. She wrote to her one million X followers: "Mark Zuckerberg identifies as libertarian and met with Donald Trump today at Mar a Lago. Is it time MAGA embraced him as one of our own?"

Meanwhile, Brian Krassenstein, a Trump-critical entrepreneur, wrote: "What would MAGA say if Biden received a $1 million donation from someone he threatened with prison? Just asking..."

Several prominent tech bosses have praised Trump over the past few months, with Zuckerberg describing Trump's response to his July assassination attempt as "one of the most badass things I've ever seen in my life."

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos congratulated Trump on X for "an extraordinary political comeback and decisive victory" after his election win against Vice President Kamala Harris in November. The Washington Post, which Bezos owns, declined to endorse Harris ahead of the vote, sparking a backlash from some of its readers.

X owner Elon Musk is a close Trump ally and has been appointed to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency alongside entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.