Meta’s recent $1 million donation to President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural fund marks a surprising but significant thaw in relations between Trump and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. This move is a stark departure from Zuckerberg’s previous stances. Meta didn’t donate to Trump’s first inaugural fund in 2017, nor did it contribute to President Biden’s in 2021. But with Trump’s decisive victory in 2024, it seems Silicon Valley’s big players are lining up to mend fences.
This development is even more intriguing considering Meta’s history with Trump. Following the events of January 6, 2021, Meta banned Trump from its platforms. Trump, in turn, lambasted Zuckerberg, even predicting in an August book release that Zuckerberg might “spend the rest of his life in prison” if he meddled in the 2024 election. Yet, here we are, with Zuckerberg recently visiting Mar-a-Lago and calling Trump’s handling of the Butler, Pennsylvania, assassination attempt “one of the most badass things I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Zuckerberg appears to be in full damage control mode. In a letter to House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, he admitted to bending under Biden administration pressure to censor content, saying, “I believe the government pressure was wrong, and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it.” Zuckerberg even issued an apology for suppressing the New York Post’s bombshell 2020 Hunter Biden laptop story—a suppression Meta executives later admitted was aimed at currying favor with the incoming Biden-Harris administration.
Now, with Trump set to take office, Zuckerberg’s tone has done a 180. He praised Trump’s election win on Instagram Threads, stating, “Congratulations to President Trump on a decisive victory. We have great opportunities ahead of us as a country. Looking forward to working with you and your administration.”
This about-face reeks of Silicon Valley’s opportunism. Democrats, of course, will claim Zuckerberg is pandering to Trump, but let’s not forget how willingly Big Tech danced to their tune over the past few years, censoring conservative voices and propping up narratives favorable to the left. Now that the winds have shifted, Meta is scrambling to stay relevant in a Trump-led America.
What this signals is simple: Trump’s leadership is powerful enough to bring even his fiercest tech critics to heel. Silicon Valley moguls, including Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai and Apple’s Tim Cook, have also offered congratulations, proving they recognize Trump’s undeniable influence. Democrats, who once celebrated Big Tech’s allegiance, must now watch as their golden boys cozy up to the man they tried to cancel.
The real story here isn’t just the money—it’s the tectonic shift in how Big Tech is positioning itself under Trump’s administration. Democrats once weaponized these companies to silence dissent, but now even Zuckerberg seems to realize that aligning with Trump is the smart move. Once again, Trump is proving he’s the one steering the ship, while Democrats sit on the sidelines complaining about the captain.
