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Remember how we were just talking about Jeffrey Wright’s astute comment that authoritarianism is growing in tandem with AI and other technologies from companies that themselves invoke authoritarianism? Yeah, well guess who was just caught on a hot mic making up investment numbers for Trump regarding US artificial intelligence tech? None other than the beloved Mayor of Palo Alto himself, Mark Zuckerberg. Zuck was kissing the ring at a White House tech event last Thursday, and apparently the boys didn’t nail down their script before showtime because when Donny asked how much Meta planned to invest in AI over the next few years, Zuck seemed to stall before landing on “Oh gosh, I don’t know, at least $600 billion.” Then later the mic picked up Zuck leaning into Trump (cringe) and saying, “I’m sorry, I was ready to do our… I wasn’t sure what number you wanted to go with.” The whole presidency in a nutshell.
“How much are you spending, would you say, over the next few years?” Trump said to the Meta chief.
“Oh, gosh… I mean, I think it’s probably going to be something like, I don’t know, at least $600 billion through ‘28 in the U.S.,” Zuckerberg responded, apparently flustered by the question.
A few moments later, during a break in the dinner, a hot mic picked Zuckerberg up telling Trump: “I’m sorry, I was ready to do our… I wasn’t sure what number you wanted to go with.”
The tech tycoon’s deference to the president, and the relatively friendly tenor of their exchange since Trump’s second inauguration earlier this year, marks a seismic shift in their relationship, with Trump saying of Zuckerberg as recently as August 2024: “We are watching him closely, and if he does anything illegal this time he will spend the rest of his life in prison.”
Trump’s comments then appeared to have been in reference to allegations, long-touted by MAGA supporters and political figures on the far right, that Facebook and other Meta-owned platforms were conspiring to mute conservative voices via their content-moderation initiatives.
As part of his thaw in relations with the Republican president, Zuckerberg has since effectively stripped his companies of in-house moderation controls, opting instead for the “community notes” model trialled by Elon Musk on X.
Thursday’s Oval Office exchange didn’t go unnoticed. “It’s embarrassing how far Tech Billionaires will go to suck up to Trump,” Democratic Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon posted to X. “Now they are just making up numbers while screwing over the American People.”
Veteran freelance journalist Paul Farhi also jumped on the bandwagon. “As June 30, Meta’s assets were valued at $295 billion. So $600 billion presupposed borrowing more than twice its book value. For *one year* of capital investment,” he wrote. “It’s about the most ludicrous statement the CEO of a publicly traded company can make.”
Am I projecting here, or does Zuck actually come across as more spineless than the other Tech Bro Villains of the Anti-Justice League? Musk and Bezos each have their own unique shades of lunacy meets sinister, but Zuck still gives vibes like he wants whoever he’s dealing with to really truly deeply pretty please like him. (For a reality check on how that’s panning out, I refer you again to the citizens of Palo Alto.) Also, I’m not fluent in the languages of finance and business, but Paul Farhi totally convinced me that Zuck picked a blatantly dumb number out of his ass(ets). Guess he’s gotten too reliant on AI generating what he thinks is the correct answer. The congresswoman has it right: it is embarrassing; I just wish the offenders felt it more keenly.
Zuckerberg saying Meta intends to spend at least 600 billion in the US
Zuckerberg at the end caught on a hot mic pic.twitter.com/PZhG4slWa9
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 5, 2025
Read “Careless People”! You will get a good idea of what kind of fool he was and is.
Slug. 🐌
” I just wish the offenders felt it more keenly.”
If wishes were horses, the devil would ride.
He (they) may be embarrassed for a split nano-second,, but only because he didn’t think quick enough.He’ll soon just shrug and turn back to “I really don’t care. Do you?”