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Former President Donald Trump escalated his longstanding feud with Mark Zuckerberg by threatening the Meta CEO with prison time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Trump accused Zuckerberg of \u201cplotting\u201d against him during the 2020 election by \u201csteering\u201d Facebook<\/a> against his campaign. Trump\u00a0warned that if Zuckerberg were to do so again in the 2024 election, he would \u201cspend the rest of his life in prison.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The comments come in a new book authored by Trump called Save America.<\/em> The book features photos from Trump\u2019s term in office with captions describing the events. Trump\u2019s threat against Zuckerberg was in a caption depicting a meeting between the two in the Oval Office.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Pages from Trump’s new book where he threatens to imprison Mark Zuckerberg for life, and has kind words for Kim Jong Un and Putin https:\/\/t.co\/3bqGCkyUN6<\/a> by @katiadoyl<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/S6AC5gC1mX<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Amanda Terkel (@aterkel) August 30, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Trump began by noting that Zuckerberg would visit him at the Oval Office. \u201cHe would bring his very nice wife to dinners, be as nice as anyone could be, while always plotting to install shameful Lock Boxes [sic] in a true PLOT AGAINST THE PRESIDENT. \u201d<\/p>\n He then accused Zuckerberg of acting disingenuously by praising him and then turning Facebook against his unsuccessful 2020 reelection campaign.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe told me there was nobody like Trump on Facebook. But at the same time, and for whatever reason, steered it against me,\u201d Trump\u2019s caption continues. \u201cWe are watching him closely, and if he does anything illegal this time he will spend the rest of his life in prison\u2014as will others who cheat in the 2024 Presidential Election.\u201d<\/p>\n Meta and Winning Team Publishing, the publisher of Save America,<\/em> did not respond to a request for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n Over the years Trump has made similar threats to other perceived enemies. During a debate in the 2016 election he memorably told former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton she\u2019d \u201cbe in jail\u201d if he was elected. Trump campaign rallies often featured the chant \u201clock her up\u201d in reference to Clinton. At another rally in October 2022 Trump advocated for jailing a journalist<\/a> in order to get them to reveal<\/a> a source.\u00a0<\/p>\n There is no evidence that Zuckerberg was involved in a plot against Trump while he was in office. Nor did Trump\u2019s allegations cite any specific law that Zuckerberg may have broken. The mention of \u201cLock Boxes\u201d appears to be a reference to a $420 million donation Zuckerberg\u2019s charity made to fund election infrastructure during in 2020.\u00a0<\/p>\n Trump has repeatedly feuded with Zuckerberg over the years. In July, Trump made the same accusations that Zuckerberg was interfering in elections.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \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! ZUCKERBUCKS, be careful!\u201d<\/p>\n Zuckerberg attempted to extend an olive branch to Trump after the failed assassination attempt against him in July, praising<\/a> his bravery. \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 Zuckerberg said<\/a> a few days after the shooting.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n During an interview with Fox<\/a> Business, Trump said Zuckerberg called him several times after the assassination attempt, including to tell him he wouldn\u2019t be endorsing a Democrat<\/a>. Meta noted he has refrained from endorsing either candidate, as he\u2019s done in prior elections. <\/p>\n Earlier this week, Zuckerberg waded further into politics, writing a letter to the House Judiciary Committee about Meta\u2019s handling of government requests about COVID-19-related content in 2021. Senior officials from the Biden administration \u201crepeatedly pressured\u201d Meta to remove some types of COVID-19 content, \u201cincluding humor and satire,\u201d according to the letter.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI believe the government pressure was wrong, and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it,\u201d Zuckerberg wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the letter, he also mentioned the donations he made that provided things like staffing and training for local poll workers during the 2020 election which was severely impacted by the pandemic. In 2020, Zuckerberg\u2019s philanthropic organization that he co-runs with his wife Priscilla Chan, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, made donations to the Center for Election Innovation & Research and the Center for Tech and Civic Life.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe are doubling down on our commitment to ensuring that every qualified jurisdiction has the resources it needs to allow every eligible citizen to vote safely and have their vote counted,\u201d Chan and Zuckerberg said in a statement at the time of their donation.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n The donations received backlash<\/a> from conservative groups that mistook<\/a> them as support for Joe Biden\u2019s candidacy. For that reason, Zuckerberg said he would not make such donations in the 2024 election.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cDespite the analyses I\u2019ve seen showing otherwise, I know that some people believe this work benefited one party over the other,\u201d Zuckerberg wrote. \u201cMy goal is to be neutral and not play a role one way or another\u2014or to even appear to be playing a role. So I don\u2019t plan on making a similar contribution this cycle.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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