[Report by Ouanchao Network, Shao Yun]
According to a report by NBC on the 2nd, during a meeting with military officials at the White House to discuss the sixth-generation fighter jet F-47, President Donald Trump was “abruptly interrupted” by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, adding to the already shaky trust in the Trump administration’s handling of confidentiality issues. In response, senior White House officials urgently addressed the issue through the pro-Republican New York Post on the 2nd, stating that NBC’s report had “distorted” the actual situation.
NBC revealed this incident in a report about the inner workings of the Trump administration on the 2nd. According to sources, Zuckerberg suddenly entered the oval office where the meeting was taking place but was asked to wait outside without a security clearance. The report described the military officials as feeling “surprised, confused, and uneasy” because some had initially thought the talks with Trump would be more confidential.
The report also shed light on the “management chaos” within the Trump administration. It is known that Trump’s staff has been trying to rein in the internal discipline within the White House, but the results have been limited. Trump’s desire to see whomever he wants and make calls he wants to make has led to his White House continuing its “laissez-faire” management style. The West Wing of the White House is now bustling with activity, with Trump even affectionately calling his office “the Central Station.”
This has raised concerns among some officials about whether it could lead to the leakage of sensitive information. NBC stated that an individual familiar with the aforementioned meeting between Trump and the military described the scene as “a bizarro world.”
On the 2nd, the White House denied the authenticity of the aforementioned report. According to a report by the New York Post on the 2nd, an anonymous senior White House official said that NBC’s report had “distorted” the situation, indicating that Zuckerberg was not asked to leave and that he had already agreed to meet with Trump at the White House.
“He was invited by the President to greet him and then left to wait for his scheduled meeting with the President, which was arranged after a fighter jets conference.”
Meta has declined to comment on this matter.
In January of this year, Mark Zuckerberg attended Trump’s inauguration ceremony.
It is worth mentioning that since Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine, exposed in March this year that he had been wrongly included in a classified chat group by former US National Security Advisor John Bolton, and was even informed in advance about the detailed plans for the US military airstrike on the Houthi forces in Yemen, there has been ongoing doubts about the security measures of the Trump administration. Subsequently, American media have reported that officials within the Trump administration were using personal email for official duties.
On the other hand, Zuckerberg seems to be unpopular among Trump supporters. On February 2nd, the New York Post mentioned that the social media mogul has been questioned in recent years for attempting to establish a relationship with his former political adversary, Donald Trump, especially after Trump won the 2024 presidential election. At the inauguration ceremony of the President in January this year, Zuckerberg was one of the CEOs sitting at the front row.
The report also stated that besides visiting the White House multiple times, Zuckerberg has taken several actions within Meta that are considered favorable to conservatives, such as ending fact-checking of content on social media platforms and appointing Trump ally and UFC president Dana White as a director of the company.
According to poll data released last month, the American public generally distrusts Zuckerberg and other tech executives for their behavior of “appeasing” Trump.
A survey conducted jointly by the “Tech Oversight Project” and “Public Policy Polling” found that among all CEOs of major tech companies, Mark Zuckerberg is the least popular, with 63% of Trump supporters viewing him negatively.
This article is an OAN report.