Tech mogul Mark Zuckerberg parked his private jet beside Trump Force One during a visit to Palm Beach, Florida, to meet with the incoming 47th president. The 40-year-old billionaire was sharply dressed in a fitted suit and tie as he was seen boarding his Gulfstream G650 jet at Palm Beach International Airport. His jet was positioned in the shadow of President-elect Donald Trump’s significantly larger custom Boeing 757, a plane Trump will soon trade for Air Force One.
This meeting between Zuckerberg and Trump marks at least the second time they have come together at Mar-a-Lago. Earlier in the day, Zuckerberg engaged in discussions with Trump at the latter’s nearby Mar-a-Lago estate, according to a source. It is the second time Zuckerberg has convened with the 78-year-old Trump at Mar-a-Lago since the president-elect’s resounding victory in the 2024 presidential election.
Their initial meeting, reportedly instigated by Zuckerberg, occurred on Thanksgiving Eve and centered around conversations regarding the “incoming Administration,” as per Meta. Zuckerberg has previously held at least two private telephone conversations with Trump over the summer, as he seeks to mend his relationship with the incoming president following his ban from social media platforms in the aftermath of the January 6, 2021, US Capitol riot.
Since Trump’s Election Day triumph, Zuckerberg has contributed $1 million to the president-elect’s inaugural fund, discontinued third-party fact-checking on Facebook, and eliminated Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies at Meta. These actions indicate the tech magnate’s efforts to align himself with Trump in anticipation of the latter’s return to the White House for a second term.
In July, Meta further eased the remaining restrictions on Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts that were imposed after the riot. Zuckerberg also publicly lauded Trump following a July incident where the president-elect defiantly pumped his fist with blood on his face during an assassination attempt, a reaction that Zuckerberg hailed as “badass.”
The evolving rapport between Zuckerberg and Trump contrasts starkly with Trump’s previous rhetoric towards Zuckerberg. Last March, in a post on Truth Social, Trump labeled Facebook as “a true Enemy of the People,” accusing Zuckerberg’s company of “cheating in the last Election.”
During Friday’s meeting, it remains unclear what specific topics were discussed between Zuckerberg and Trump. Trump appeared to allude to the over $400 million that Zuckerberg spent during the 2020 cycle to support local elections, a move that Republicans criticized as an effort to sway the 2020 vote.
The so-called “Zuckerbucks” initiative faced backlash from Republicans, who viewed it as an attempt to influence the election. In the 2024 election cycle, Zuckerberg did not pursue this initiative. Both Meta and the Trump transition team declined to comment on the matter.
