By Over the past few years, Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg and the Republicans have not particularly gotten along. During the 2020 elections through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which he co-founded with his wife, Priscilla Chan, Zuckerberg aimed to shape who won the election. He donated $400 million in what critics derisively labeled “Zuckerbucks.”
These funds were aimed at supporting election officials and ensuring safe, secure voting during the COVID-19 pandemic, but conservatives noted that that cash went disproportionately to aiding election offices in predominantly Democratic areas.
The billionaire’s meddling was recently outlawed in several states, but that might not mean much anyway. Zuckerberg appears to have changed his mind toward the former president, reports Business Insider.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg called former President Donald Trump’s reaction to getting shot “badass,” although he declined to endorse him in an interview with Bloomberg released Friday.
Bloomberg’s Emily Chang asked Zuckerberg about the upcoming elections during an interview at Meta headquarters. Zuckerberg said Meta would continue to dial back political content in people’s feeds because, he said, users say they don’t want to see it.
Zuckerberg also said he wouldn’t be taking an active role in the election personally or endorsing any candidate.
But he did have some praise for Trump in the wake of the recent attempt on his life: “On a personal note, 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. And I think, look: 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.”
Zuckerberg of $META: “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.” pic.twitter.com/pDTWf2LI9Z
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) July 19, 2024
During a campaign event in Pennsylvania on Saturday, former President Trump was targeted by a lone gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. The incident resulted in a bullet grazing Trump’s ear. Tragically, Corey Comperatore lost his life in the attack. Additionally, two other individuals were injured: David Dutch, 57, from New Kensington, Pennsylvania, and James Copenhaver, 74, from Moon Township, Pennsylvania. Both wounded victims are now reported to be in stable condition.
Trump has seen several Silicon Valley billionaires come to support him over the past few weeks and swayed his decision to choose Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate.
The New York Times writes that “Mr. Vance, the Ohio senator selected by Mr. Trump this week to be his running mate, spent less than five years in Silicon Valley’s tech industry, where he worked as a junior venture capitalist and a biotech executive. But while he made little mark on the tech scene, it was a formative period that has powered Mr. Vance’s stunning ascent in the Republican Party — and is likely to influence his political future.
Mr. Vance’s stint in tech was crucial for forging connections with billionaire executives and investors, including Mr. Thiel, Mr. Sacks and Elon Musk, who owns X. Over and over, those men have funded Mr. Vance’s political ambitions, raised his profile among other wealthy donors and on social media, and lobbied Mr. Trump to choose him as his running mate.
Before the 2022 midterm elections, Mr. Thiel gave $15 million to support Mr. Vance’s campaign for the Senate. Mr. Sacks donated $1 million to a political action committee backing Mr. Vance’s run. In a post on Truth Social on Monday, Mr. Trump cited Mr. Vance’s ‘very successful business career in Technology and Finance’ as one reason he was chosen as his running mate.”
Tech founders aren’t just offering advice, however. They’re also offering financial support to the Trump campaign. Elon Musk, for example, recently announced that he will spend $45 million a month to help Trump defeat the Democrats this fall.
He has said previously that he supported Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and, most recently in 2020, Joe Biden.
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