SAN FRANCISCO/DENVER (July 19): Mark Zuckerberg said that former president Donald Trump’s immediate reaction after being shot was “badass” and inspiring, and helps explain his appeal to voters.

“Seeing Donald Trump get up after getting shot in the face and pump his fist in the air with the American flag is one of the most badass things I’ve ever seen in my life,” the Meta Platforms Inc chief executive officer said Thursday during an interview at the company’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California. “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 that’s why a lot of people like the guy.”

Zuckerberg, 40, declined to endorse Trump or his presumed opponent, President Joe Biden, adding that he’s “not planning” to be involved in the election in any way. Still, his comments add to a growing chorus of Silicon Valley leaders, including Tesla Inc billionaire Elon Musk and venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, who are warming to the former president, some pledging donations to his campaign. Zuckerberg made the comments during a wide-ranging discussion about the future of AI, social media and more for The Circuit with Emily Chang. The full episode is set to air on Tuesday.

Zuckerberg said Meta is making changes that he hopes will mean Facebook is not as much of a flashpoint in elections going forward. “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.” Meta is already recommending less political content to its users, he added. “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 by Trump’s use of Meta’s products to reach his followers. The former president’s posts have routinely contained misinformation or challenged Meta’s rules. The company suspended Trump from both Facebook and Instagram for two years in the wake of the Jan 6, 2021, Capitol riots. At the time, Zuckerberg posted that Trump was using his account to “undermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power to his elected successor.”

While the accounts have since been reinstated, Trump indicated he hasn’t forgiven Meta or Zuckerberg, and recently suggested that he plans to retaliate. He called Facebook the “enemy of the people” in March. Earlier this month, Trump also appeared to warn Zuckerberg. “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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “We already know who you are. DON’T DO IT!  ZUCKERBUCKS, be careful!”

Trump has reversed policy positions in the name of punishing Meta. While he was president, Trump pushed for a ban of the Chinese-owned video app, TikTok. Trump has since changed his stance, arguing in Businessweek that a ban would be too beneficial to Meta’s business.

Zuckerberg said he welcomes competition. “It’s good,” he said on The Circuit. “I think we’re doing pretty well here. We’re gaining market share. So I don’t know. They’ll go do what they need to do but I think we’re gonna be fine and we’re gonna continue doing well in this space either way.”

When asked if he thought TikTok should be banned, Zuckerberg demurred. “That’s above my pay grade,” he said.

  - Bloomberg