Meta's $1 Million Donation Puts TikTok at Risk: Is Zuckerberg-Trump Alliance on the Horizon?

Meta announced on Wednesday that it had donated $1 million to President-elect Donald J. Trump's inaugural fund. This latest move by Mark Zuckerberg, the company's chief executive, is seen as an effort to build a positive relationship with Trump.

The social media giant did not provide details on the reason for the donation, but it came just weeks after Zuckerberg met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. During that meeting, the two men exchanged pleasantries, and Zuckerberg congratulated Trump on winning the presidency. Zuckerberg also had a meal with Marco Rubio, Mr. Trump's pick for Secretary of State, according to a person who witnessed the meeting.

This happened at a time when TikTok, a key rival of Meta, faces the risk of a ban in the United States. Though ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, will appeal to block the law, the Justice Department late on Wednesday asked a U.S. appeals court to reject the emergency bid. Trump has committed to "save" TikTok, with his latest friendship with Zuckerberg, the risk of a TikTok ban is now looming.

The inaugural fund is a special fund used to support the U.S. presidential inauguration and related activities. Although the $1 million donation is not a large amount, this gesture of goodwill is a notable departure from Zuckerberg and Meta's past practices. According to public records, neither Zuckerberg nor Meta donated to Trump's 2017 inaugural fund or Biden's 2021 inaugural fund.

Zuckerberg has historically supported congressional candidates from both parties but has generally been reluctant to donate to presidential campaigns. In August, Zuckerberg wrote to Congress stating that he would stop making donations during this year's election to avoid accusations of political bias and maintain neutrality.

This first step of donating to Trump's inaugural fund clearly signifies Zuckerberg's attempt to improve relations with Trump and avoid his company becoming a target of the Trump administration. During this year's election, Trump threatened to punish Zuckerberg if he attempted to interfere with the election results against him.

After the Capitol riots in early 2021 led to Trump's Facebook account being banned, the relationship between Trump and Zuckerberg became quite tense.

From a public perspective, their relationship seems to have improved. In July, Zuckerberg praised Trump's reaction during an assassination attempt on him—Trump raised his fist and shouted Fight, fight, fight, which Zuckerberg called one of the most badxxx things I've ever seen. A few days after the shooting incident, the two had a conversation. In October, Trump stated on the Barstool Sports podcast that he likes Zuckerberg more now and added, he is staying out of the election.

According to some insiders, Zuckerberg has privately told other business leaders that he is optimistic about Trump's presidency. Last month, after Trump won the election, Zuckerberg congratulated Trump on social media and expressed his eagerness to work with the President-elect.

Currently, several of Trump's nominations indicate that the Trump 2.0 administration will take strict measures against large tech companies, particularly social media companies. Many Republicans claim these companies have deliberately censored and obstructed conservative voices.

On Tuesday, Trump nominated Andrew Ferguson to chair the Federal Trade Commission, the regulatory body overseeing Meta's antitrust matters. "At the FTC, we will end Big Tech's vendetta against competition and free speech," said Ferguson in a statement on X. "We will make sure that America is the world's technological leader and the best place for innovators to bring new ideas to life."

In fact, as the Republican Party is set to control the White House and both chambers of Congress and calls for new regulations on technology, other American business leaders, besides Zuckerberg, have also shown a subtle shift in their attitudes towards Trump.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who has long been at odds with Trump, also congratulated Trump on X after the election. They also had dinner with each other a few days ago, with Bezos endorsing Trump as "calmer than he was the first time and more settled." He seems to have a lot of energy around reducing regulation. If I can help do that, I'm going to help him, Bezos said.