Mark Zuckerberg's relationship with Trump

Mark Zuckerberg’s relationship with Trump

The Federal Trade Commission’s blockbuster antitrust case against Meta kicks off on April 13, 2025 in a courtroom in Washington, D.C.

What about the politics of the case? How does CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s relationship with Trump play into this trial?

This case first started in Trump’s first term, in December 2020. That’s when Trump still had a bitter feud with Zuckerberg, but the two have been less confrontational of late. Before he won the November 2024 election, Trump threatened to throw Zuckerberg in prison, saying if Zuckerberg’s platforms did anything to hurt Trump’s chances on the campaign trail, he would “spend the rest of his life in prison.”

Like many other executives in Silicon Valley, Zuckerberg has recently been ingratiating himself with the Trump administration. Zuckerberg has publicly praised Trump; he donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee; he agreed to pay Trump $25 million to settle a suit Trump filed for being suspended from Facebook and Instagram in the wake of Jan. 6; and he’s made companywide shifts that align with Trump’s priorities, like ending Facebook and Instagram’s fact-checking program and rolling back diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Zuckerberg has also made visits to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, reportedly to lobby the president to drop the case.

There has been speculation that Trump could abandon the trial and settle with Meta, but so far, all indications point to the case sticking. FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson has said his lawyers are “raring to go” against Meta. That said, he also has said he would “obey lawful orders” from the president. In other words, the start of the trial does not take a settlement off the table. The two sides could reach a settlement in the midst of the trial, though legal experts say it is highly unlikely.