Former President Donald Trump said Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has spoken with him about his skepticism about supporting Democrats this year.
Trump, in an interview with New York magazine, reflected on the immediate aftermath of the assassination attempt against him on July 13. He spoke with the magazine about several calls he received after the shooting, including ones from Zuckerberg and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
“You know, I got so many nice calls from people I really don’t know. Jeff Bezos called. He said, ‘It is the most incredible thing I’ve ever watched.’ And he appreciated what I did, in the sense of getting up and letting people know,” he said. “I said, ‘Despite the fact that you own the Washington Post, I appreciate it.’ He couldn’t have been nicer,” the former president related.
He then revealed that Zuckerberg had gone further than simply expressing his condolences and support.
“Mark Zuckerberg called up and said, ‘I’ve never supported a Republican before, but there’s no way I can vote for a Democrat in this election.’ He’s a guy that, his parents, everybody was always Democrat. He said, ‘I will never vote for the people running against you after watching what you did.’ So, I mean, people really appreciated it. I don’t — I think it was very natural what I did. I think it was natural,” Trump said.
A Meta spokesperson disputed the interaction.
“As Mark has said publicly, he’s not endorsing anybody in this race and has not communicated to anybody how he intends to vote,” the spokesperson said.
Trump and Zuckerberg had a rocky relationship during the former’s presidency and the immediate aftermath, with the Meta CEO approving the decision to ban Trump from the company’s platforms after the Jan. 6 riot. Zuckerberg has since softened his position, allowing Trump back on and issuing praises of his actions after the assassination attempt.
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“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 told Bloomberg in July.
“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 added.
