Donald Trump once threatened to jail Mark Zuckerberg but last night they ate Thanksgiving Eve dinner together
Donald Trump was threatening to send Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to prison “for life” if he interfered in the election just a few short months ago—but come Thanksgiving, the bad blood appears to be water under the bridge.
In fact, the President-elect and the Big Tech entrepreneur enjoyed a pre-Thanksgiving dinner in Florida this week.
The meeting between the pair on Wednesday night was first reported by The New York Times but has since been confirmed by Meta.
The duo and their teams sat down at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, with Meta telling the NYT: “It’s an important time for the future of American innovation.
“Mark was grateful for the invitation to join President Trump for dinner and the opportunity to meet with members of his team about the incoming administration.”
Meta did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment.
Of course, Zuckerberg isn’t the only billionaire guest being welcomed at Mar-a-Lago—Tesla CEO Elon Musk is becoming something of a regular.
Musk and Trump’s relationship has become increasingly close since the former endorsed the latter in the presidential election and plowed hundreds of millions of dollars into his campaign.
In turn, the Republican politician has U-turned his rhetoric on electric vehicles and created a Department Of Government Efficiency, which Musk, alongside Viviek Ramaswamay, will be heading up.
Trump’s previous prison threat to Zuckerberg
On the other hand, the relationship between Trump and Zuckerberg has been considerably less cosy.
In August—and in print, no less—Trump threatened Zuckerberg with lifetime incarceration if he was perceived to interfere in the 2024 election.
In his book, Save America, Trump wrote Zuckerberg “would bring his very nice wife to dinners, be as nice as anyone could be, while always plotting to install shameful Lock Boxes in a true PLOT AGAINST THE PRESIDENT.”
The mention of “Lock Boxes” appears to refer to a $420 million donation Zuckerberg’s charity made to fund election infrastructure in 2020.
At the time, critics—including then-President Trump—baselessly claimed the funds were being used to get then–Democratic nominee Joe Biden elected.
Indeed, a UCLA study published in May discovered that the billionaire’s funds—nicknamed “Zuckerbucks” by critics—“did not substantially improve the performance of Democratic candidates.”
In August, Zuckerberg offered further clarification.
In an open letter penned to Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, Zuckerberg said the contributions were designed to be nonpartisan and were spread across a range of urban and rural communities.
“We are watching him closely,” Trump added in the book, “and if he does anything illegal this time he will spend the rest of his life in prison – as will others who cheat in the 2024 Presidential Election.”
Trump had previously said similar in July.
Writing on his social media platform, Truth Social, the Republican candidate said: “All I can say is that if I’m elected President, we will pursue Election Fraudsters at levels never seen before, and they will be sent to prison for long periods of time. We already know who you are. DON’T DO IT! ZUCKERBUCKS, be careful!”
Zuckerberg and the 2024 election
The Meta founder, worth $202 billion, kept his cards close to his chest this election cycle, endorsing neither Trump nor Harris.
He did, however, praise Trump’s response to an assassination attempt at one of his rallies in July.
Zuckerberg told Bloomberg’s Emily Chang later that month: “At some level as an American, it’s hard to not, like, get kind of emotional about that spirit and that fight. And I think that’s why a lot of people like the guy.”
The entrepreneur later congratulated the President-elect on his successful campaign to win the White House, writing on his app Threads: “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.”
