Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg made an unexpected appearance at a classified White House session in March on the U.S. Air Force's new F-47 fighter planes, an NBC News report said, citing two people with knowledge of the event.
His presence reportedly caused concern, though, over his security clearance, and White House aides instructed him to wait in the corridor.
Sources said that Zuckerberg, who has been dubbed "MAGA Mark" by some after his recent political shift, stuck around for a few moments in the Oval Office before being ushered out. A senior White House official contradicted that description, saying that Zuckerberg came into the room only at the President's invitation.
"He wasn't taken away," the official said to the New York Post. "He walked in to meet with the President and then walked out before his pre-arranged meeting with him, which was to occur after the meeting with Air Force staff."
Details regarding the timing of the visit are still not clear, and Meta has not commented on the alleged incident.
Zuckerberg's changing dynamic with American politics—particularly the Republican Party and ex-President Donald Trump—has commanded more and more attention in recent years. A supporter of progressive policies such as immigration reform and contributor to Democratic candidates in the past, Zuckerberg has moved considerably to the right. He backed Trump in the 2024 campaign and has become a stauncher supporter of conservative ideals within Meta's policies.
Zuckerberg was spotted at Trump's inauguration in January, along with other Silicon Valley titans like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, just days after he had banned Trump from Facebook and Instagram following the Capitol riot on January 6.
In a symbolic shift, Meta is said to have closed its in-house fact-checking program, a longtime conservative target of criticism. Moreover, UFC President Dana White—a vocal Trump supporter—was added to Meta's board, cementing the company's new path.
The clearest indication of Zuckerberg's political realignment, however, was Meta's unprecedented $1 million contribution to Trump's 2025 inaugural fund—the social media giant's first ever financial support of a presidential inauguration.
Zuckerberg has also publicly commended Trump. In response to a recent attempt on the life of the former President, he was said to have referred to Trump's reaction as "one of the most badass things I have ever seen."
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