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Mark Zuckerberg said that former President Donald Trump\u2019s immediate\u00a0reaction<\/a>\u00a0after being shot\u00a0was \u201cbadass\u201d and inspiring, and\u00a0helps explain his appeal to voters.<\/p>\n \u201cSeeing 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\u2019ve ever seen in my life,\u201d the Meta Platforms<\/a> Inc.\u00a0chief executive officer said Thursday during an interview at the company\u2019s headquarters in Menlo Park, California. \u201cOn some level as an American, it\u2019s like hard to not get kind of emotional about that spirit and that fight, and I think that that\u2019s why a lot of people like the guy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Zuckerberg, 40, declined to endorse Trump or his presumed opponent, President Joe Biden, adding that he\u2019s \u201cnot planning\u201d to be involved in the election in any way. Still, his comments\u00a0add\u00a0to a growing chorus of\u00a0Silicon Valley leaders, including Tesla<\/a> Inc. billionaire\u00a0Elon Musk and\u00a0venture capitalists<\/a>\u00a0Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz,\u00a0who are warming to the former president, some\u00a0pledging donations to his campaign.\u00a0Zuckerberg made the comments during a wide-ranging\u00a0discussion about the future of AI, social media and more for\u00a0The Circuit with Emily Chang<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0The full episode is set to air on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Zuckerberg said Meta is making changes that he hopes will mean Facebook is not as much of a flashpoint in\u00a0elections going forward. \u201cThe 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.\u201d Meta is already recommending less political content to its users, he added. \u201cI think you\u2019re going to see our services play less of a role in this election than they have in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n Zuckerberg\u2019s relationship with Trump has been complicated by Trump\u2019s use of Meta\u2019s products to reach his followers. The former president\u2019s posts have routinely contained misinformation or challenged Meta\u2019s rules. The company suspended Trump from both Facebook and Instagram for two years in the wake of the January 6, 2021, Capitol riots. At the time, Zuckerberg posted that Trump was using his account to \u201cundermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power to his elected successor.\u201d<\/p>\n While the accounts have since been reinstated,\u00a0Trump indicated he hasn\u2019t forgiven Meta<\/a>\u00a0or Zuckerberg, and recently suggested that he plans to retaliate. He called Facebook\u00a0the \u201cenemy of the people\u201d<\/a>\u00a0in March. Earlier this month, Trump also appeared to warn Zuckerberg. \u201cAll I can say is that if I\u2019m elected President, we will pursue Election Fraudsters at levels never seen before, and they will be sent to prison for long periods of time,\u201d Trump wrote on Truth Social. \u201cWe already know who you are. DON\u2019T DO IT!\u00a0 ZUCKERBUCKS, be careful!\u201d<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0Trump has since changed his stance, arguing in\u00a0Businessweek<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>that a ban would be too beneficial to Meta\u2019s business.<\/p>\n Zuckerberg said he welcomes competition. \u201cIt\u2019s good,\u201d he said on\u00a0The Circuit<\/em>.\u00a0\u201cI think we\u2019re doing pretty well here. We\u2019re gaining market share. So I don\u2019t know. They\u2019ll go do what they need to do but I think we\u2019re gonna be fine and we\u2019re gonna continue doing well in this space either way.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked if he thought TikTok should be banned, Zuckerberg demurred.\u00a0\u201cThat\u2019s above my pay grade,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nRecommended Newsletter:<\/strong> The Fortune Next to Lead newsletter is a must-read for the next generation of C-suite leaders. Every Monday, the newsletter provides the strategies, resources, and expert insight needed to claim the most coveted positions in business. Subscribe now<\/a>.<\/div>\n