SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
With an image of himself on a screen in the background, Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before the House Financial Services Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill October 23, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Facebook CEO Zuckerberg Dodges When Pressed About Details of White House Dinner With Trump
"No better example of Facebook's power than Zuckerberg being asked here whether Trump lobbied him, rather than whether he lobbied Trump."
Dec 01, 2019
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in an interview Monday morning that he wasn't willing to divulge what he and President Donald Trump talked about in a previously secret dinner at the White House in October, calling the conversation a "private discussion."
Zuckerberg was responding to a question from CBS This Morning anchor Gayle King on the dinner, which was made public on November 20.
"We talked about a number of things that were on his mind and the topics that you'd read in the news around our work," said Zuckerberg.
King pressed the social media CEO on the conversation.
"People will say the optics weren't good," King said of the dinner, which was also attended by Facebook investor and Trump supporter billionaire Peter Thiel.
"Did he try to lobby you in any way?" King asked, referring to reports that the president used the dinner as a venue to complain about his view of the treatment of conservatives on the social media platform.
"I want to respect that it was a private discussion," said Zuckerberg.
\u201cQ: What was the nature of your meeting with Trump? Can you say?\n\nZUCKERBERG: "Ah, sure, I mean, we talked about, ahm, a number of things that were on his mind, and, um, some of the topics that you'd read about in the news around, around, um, our work."\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1575304135
The framing of King's question--that Zuckerberg, not Trump, was the one at the dinner being lobbied--was notable to Financial Times reporter Kadhim Shubber.
"No better example of Facebook's power than Zuckerberg being asked here whether Trump lobbied him, rather than whether he lobbied Trump," Shubber tweeted.
As Common Dreams reported, news of the dinner set off a firestorm of criticism from progressives who found both the meeting and the secrecy indicative of what Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called "corruption, plain and simple."
King also asked Zuckerberg about his company's policy on allowing ads spreading political lies without restriction. The Facebook CEO said that the public should be trusted to figure the truth out.
"What I believe is in a democracy is it's really important that people can see for themselves what politicians are saying so they can make their own judgments," said Zuckerberg.
NBC News reporter Ben Collins pointed out that the transparency Zuckerberg was celebrating apparently didn't extend to his refusal to reveal what the president said during their dinner.
"Are these directly contradictory statements? Yes. Does it matter? Lol, no, of course not," tweeted Collins.
Watch the interview, via CBS:
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in an interview Monday morning that he wasn't willing to divulge what he and President Donald Trump talked about in a previously secret dinner at the White House in October, calling the conversation a "private discussion."
Zuckerberg was responding to a question from CBS This Morning anchor Gayle King on the dinner, which was made public on November 20.
"We talked about a number of things that were on his mind and the topics that you'd read in the news around our work," said Zuckerberg.
King pressed the social media CEO on the conversation.
"People will say the optics weren't good," King said of the dinner, which was also attended by Facebook investor and Trump supporter billionaire Peter Thiel.
"Did he try to lobby you in any way?" King asked, referring to reports that the president used the dinner as a venue to complain about his view of the treatment of conservatives on the social media platform.
"I want to respect that it was a private discussion," said Zuckerberg.
\u201cQ: What was the nature of your meeting with Trump? Can you say?\n\nZUCKERBERG: "Ah, sure, I mean, we talked about, ahm, a number of things that were on his mind, and, um, some of the topics that you'd read about in the news around, around, um, our work."\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1575304135
The framing of King's question--that Zuckerberg, not Trump, was the one at the dinner being lobbied--was notable to Financial Times reporter Kadhim Shubber.
"No better example of Facebook's power than Zuckerberg being asked here whether Trump lobbied him, rather than whether he lobbied Trump," Shubber tweeted.
As Common Dreams reported, news of the dinner set off a firestorm of criticism from progressives who found both the meeting and the secrecy indicative of what Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called "corruption, plain and simple."
King also asked Zuckerberg about his company's policy on allowing ads spreading political lies without restriction. The Facebook CEO said that the public should be trusted to figure the truth out.
"What I believe is in a democracy is it's really important that people can see for themselves what politicians are saying so they can make their own judgments," said Zuckerberg.
NBC News reporter Ben Collins pointed out that the transparency Zuckerberg was celebrating apparently didn't extend to his refusal to reveal what the president said during their dinner.
"Are these directly contradictory statements? Yes. Does it matter? Lol, no, of course not," tweeted Collins.
Watch the interview, via CBS:
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in an interview Monday morning that he wasn't willing to divulge what he and President Donald Trump talked about in a previously secret dinner at the White House in October, calling the conversation a "private discussion."
Zuckerberg was responding to a question from CBS This Morning anchor Gayle King on the dinner, which was made public on November 20.
"We talked about a number of things that were on his mind and the topics that you'd read in the news around our work," said Zuckerberg.
King pressed the social media CEO on the conversation.
"People will say the optics weren't good," King said of the dinner, which was also attended by Facebook investor and Trump supporter billionaire Peter Thiel.
"Did he try to lobby you in any way?" King asked, referring to reports that the president used the dinner as a venue to complain about his view of the treatment of conservatives on the social media platform.
"I want to respect that it was a private discussion," said Zuckerberg.
\u201cQ: What was the nature of your meeting with Trump? Can you say?\n\nZUCKERBERG: "Ah, sure, I mean, we talked about, ahm, a number of things that were on his mind, and, um, some of the topics that you'd read about in the news around, around, um, our work."\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1575304135
The framing of King's question--that Zuckerberg, not Trump, was the one at the dinner being lobbied--was notable to Financial Times reporter Kadhim Shubber.
"No better example of Facebook's power than Zuckerberg being asked here whether Trump lobbied him, rather than whether he lobbied Trump," Shubber tweeted.
As Common Dreams reported, news of the dinner set off a firestorm of criticism from progressives who found both the meeting and the secrecy indicative of what Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called "corruption, plain and simple."
King also asked Zuckerberg about his company's policy on allowing ads spreading political lies without restriction. The Facebook CEO said that the public should be trusted to figure the truth out.
"What I believe is in a democracy is it's really important that people can see for themselves what politicians are saying so they can make their own judgments," said Zuckerberg.
NBC News reporter Ben Collins pointed out that the transparency Zuckerberg was celebrating apparently didn't extend to his refusal to reveal what the president said during their dinner.
"Are these directly contradictory statements? Yes. Does it matter? Lol, no, of course not," tweeted Collins.
Watch the interview, via CBS:
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.