Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta donates $1m to Trump’s inauguration fund

Mark Zuckerberg’s firm Meta has donated $1m to Donald Trump’s inauguration fund as the Facebook founder tries to mend ties with the president-elect.

In August, Mr Trump threatened to imprison the billionaire if he did “anything illegal” to influence the presidential election.

But last month the pair dined together at Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, with Mr Zuckerberg making clear he wants to support “national renewal”, according to the president-elect’s deputy chief of staff.

The Wall Street Journal now reports those efforts have resulted in the $1m donation after years of the tech tycoon typically steering clear of presidential races.

Donations to the inauguration fund go towards events around the swearing-in ceremony in January.

The newspaper also claims Mr Zuckerberg and his advisers met with Marco Rubio, Mr Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, as well as with three senior incoming White House advisers.

Before the dinner in November, the Meta boss reportedly also held a private demonstration for Mr Trump of his company’s smart glasses, which he gifted to the president-elect.

It all comes after years of a fraught relationship between the pair.

Mr Trump was kicked off Facebook following the January 6 insurrection.

And in July he posted on his Truth Social site a message threatening to send election fraudsters to prison. He used his nickname for the Meta boss, warning “Zuckerbucks” to “be careful”.

In 2017, Mr Zuckerberg said he was “concerned” by Mr Trump’s order to bar citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from the US during his first term in office.