Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg praised Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s response to nearly being assassinated, calling his raised fist after the incident “one of the most badass things I’ve ever seen in my life.”
In an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday, Zuckerberg declined to endorse a presidential candidate and said he would not play “a significant role in the election.”
But Zuckerberg went on to offer positive characterizations of Trump.
“At some level as an American, it’s hard to not, like, get kind of emotional about that spirit and that fight,” Zuckerberg said about Trump’s response to the shooting. “And I think that’s why a lot of people like the guy.”
Meta did not immediately respond to an NBC News request for comment.
Zuckerberg has faced criticism and scrutiny from both Trump and President Joe Biden.
Zuckerberg’s comments about Trump come days after Trump suggested that he didn’t want to ban TikTok because Zuckerberg’s social media platforms would benefit.
“If you don’t have TikTok, you have Facebook and Instagram, and that’s, you know, that’s Zuckerberg,” Trump said.
Trump has attacked Zuckerberg several times over the years. On Trump’s own social media platform, Truth Social, Trump recently threatened to send “ZUCKERBUCKS” to prison if he were elected president.
Trump has also claimed that Zuckerberg has praised him in private. “Last week, the weirdo — he’s a weirdo — Mark Zuckerberg came to the White House, kissed my ass all night,” Trump said at a 2022 rally, according to Business Insider.
Facebook and Instagram reinstated Trump’s accounts last year after he was previously suspended following the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Zuckerberg has supported Republicans in the past. In 2013, Zuckerberg hosted a fundraiser for then-governor of New Jersey Chris Christie, who ran unsuccessfully in this year’s Republican primary.
But during the 2020 election cycle, Zuckerberg donated $350 million to local election offices, a move that some Republicans accused of helping get President Joe Biden elected. In the 2022 midterms, the nonprofit that distributed the money said that it wouldn’t disburse similar donations anymore.
Biden has also voiced criticism about the tech titan. “I’ve never been a big Zuckerberg fan,” Biden told The New York Times while running for president in 2020. “I think he’s a real problem.”
Since the assassination attempt and Biden’s poor performance in the first debate, Trump has received a series of high-profile nods and endorsements. X owner Elon Musk offered his official endorsement of Trump just moments after the shooting.
“I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,” Musk posted on Saturday.
