On Wednesday, the eve of the global Thanksgiving in the USA, $Meta Platforms (META.US)$ Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg had a rare meeting with Trump. This is Zuckerberg's latest effort to establish a positive relationship with Trump.

According to three informed sources, the meeting was proactively initiated by Zuckerberg. His relationship with Trump has been tense for the past decade. Trump has long insisted that Meta has imposed unfair restrictions on him and other conservatives on its social media platforms, and he has repeatedly attacked Zuckerberg in social media and campaign speeches.

Insiders revealed that Zuckerberg flew into West Palm Beach, Florida on Tuesday night and went to meet Trump at his Mar-a-Lago hotel and club on Wednesday. The two exchanged greetings, and Zuckerberg congratulated Trump on his presidential victory. Then, Trump and Zuckerberg had dinner together that evening at Trump’s hotel.

A spokesperson for Meta stated in a statement:

“This is an important moment for the future of innovation in the usa. Mark is grateful for President Trump's invitation and cherishes the opportunity to meet with his team regarding the new government.”

Zuckerberg's move is also seen as an effort to protect Meta from the influence of the new government. For a long time, Meta has been a target of criticism from conservatives in Washington. Trump has publicly called for Zuckerberg's arrest, saying he "conspired against" him in the 2020 election, and stated that if he did so again, the Meta CEO would "spend the rest of his life in prison."

In 2021, Trump stated that he should have banned Facebook during his term, but added, "Zuckerberg kept calling me then and came to the White House to tell me how great I was." After the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021, Facebook suspended Trump's account until Meta restored it in 2023.

As executives at meta platforms realized that Trump might win the 2024 election, Zuckerberg has been trying to mend the relationship between the two over the past 18 months.

According to informed sources, this summer, Zuckerberg had private conversations with Trump at least twice. In one of the calls, he expressed concern after a failed assassination attempt on Trump and stated he would "pray" for him. During an interview this summer, Zuckerberg said that Trump's display of raising his fists to the crowd after being shot at during a rally in Pennsylvania made him feel Trump was very "hardcore."

After Trump won the election, Zuckerberg also congratulated Trump along with other technology and business leaders. He posted on Threads the day after the election, saying, "Congratulations to President Trump on his decisive victory. As a nation, we have tremendous opportunities ahead of us. Looking forward to working with you and your administration."

Trump's policy advisor Stephen Miller provided a somewhat different interpretation of the meeting than the official stance of meta platforms. In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, he revealed that Zuckerberg explicitly stated he wanted to support and be involved in the reform movement that Trump is leading, which is sweeping across the usa and globally.

Trump and Zuckerberg met at least twice during his first term, including one undisclosed meeting at the White House, as well as a secret dinner in October 2019 with billionaire Peter Thiel.

Other technology executives, such as Musk, have a closer relationship with Trump. Musk not only supports the conservative movement but also donated hundreds of millions to Trump's campaign team. Musk spent time with Trump on election night and has since visited Mar-a-Lago multiple times. However, executives at meta platforms hope Zuckerberg can establish a new relationship with the new government in a more moderate manner.

Editor/rice