| Advertisement |
Dec. 12 (UPI) -- Meta donated $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration fund, the company confirmed. The donation was originally reported by The Wall Street Journal and later confirmed by CNN and The New York Times.
Advertisement
Such donations do not have contribution limits and fund-raising materials for Trump's inauguration note that donors who provide at least $1 million or raise at least $2 million can receive up to six tickets for inaugural events in January, NYT reported.
The donation comes after Zuckerberg, the founder of the influential tech firm that includes Instagram and the messaging platform WhatsApp, met with Trump privately two weeks ago at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Meta officials did not give any further details on the donation and what it would be used for.
Republicans have criticized Meta and other social media outlets for allegedly trying to silence conservative voices. Meta banned Trump from Facebook for a period after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters.
In recent months, however, Zuckerberg and other Big Tech leaders have been cozying up to Trump in the weeks before taking office in hopes for friendlier digital policies, experts have suggested.
Trump called Facebook an "enemy of the people," in March during a CNBC interview but praised Zuckerberg after the Mar-a-Lago meeting. Zuckerberg also had dinner with Sen. Marco Rubio, Trump's selection for secretary of state, during his Florida trip.
However, longtime Trump aide Stephen Millier praised Zuckerberg after the late November meeting.
"Mark Zuckerberg, like so many business leaders, understand that President Trump is an agent of change, an agent of prosperity, and so, business leaders, CEOs everywhere, they want to be an element, a supporter, a booster of making our economy prosperous, delivering for American workers and making sure that America is the most powerful, wealthiest, freest nation on the face of the Earth," Miller said.
