Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg called former President Donald Trump’s reaction to his assassination attempt “one of the most bad*ss things I’ve ...
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg called former President Donald Trump’s reaction to his assassination attempt “one of the most bad*ss things I’ve ever seen in my life,” although he stopped short of endorsing the former president’s campaign.
The Facebook co-founder made the comments during an interview with Bloomberg’s Emily Chang on the tech podcast “The Circuit.”
“On a personal note… seeing Donald Trump get up after being shot in the face and pump his fist in the air with the American flag is one of the most bad*ss things I’ve ever seen in my life,” Zuckerberg said.
“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’s why a lot of people like the guy,” he said.
Trump narrowly missed being killed by a bullet to the head at Saturday’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. A bullet grazed the former president’s right ear, and he ducked behind a podium before being whisked away by Secret Service agents. He raised his fist and shouted, “Fight!” as he exited the stage.
Law enforcement returned fire immediately, killing the shooter. At least one rallygoer was killed, and two others were injured.
One of the most shared photos from the chaotic moments after the shooting shows Trump raising his fist with the American flag in the background.
Zuckerberg, 40, explained, however, that he is not endorsing either candidate in the 2024 presidential race.
The tech CEO added that his company, Meta, formerly called Facebook, is providing less political content to users this election cycle than in the past when the social media platform sparked concerns about disinformation and censorship.
“The main thing that I hear from people is that they actually want to see less political content on our services because they come to our services to connect with people,” Zuckerberg said. “I think you’re going to see our services play less of a role in this election than they have in the past.”
Zuckerberg’s relationship with Trump has been complicated and, at times, rocky.
In the wake of the January 6 Capitol riot, the tech giant suspended Trump from both Facebook and Instagram, only reinstating him this month, two years later.
Zuckerberg said at the time that Trump was using his account to “undermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power to his elected successor.”
Trump was also incensed by a program nicknamed “Zuckerbucks,” where philanthropies backed by Zuckerberg and his wife gave grants to local election offices to help with voter communication and other election work during the pandemic.
Some Republicans accused the program of trying to influence the 2020 election by turning official government election offices into “get out the vote” operations for Democrats.
Earlier this month, Trump promised to pursue “election fraudsters” and send them to prison.
“We already know who you are. DON’T DO IT! ZUCKERBUCKS, be careful!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
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