- Donald Trump joked with Mark Zuckerberg about starting a political career while at the White House dinner
- Zuckerberg declined to answer a reporter's free speech question, saying he was not ready
- Tech CEOs at the dinner included Tim Cook, Satya Nadella, Bill Gates, Sundar Pichai, and Sam Altman
US President Donald Trump joked with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg at the White House dinner with tech leaders, saying that this would be the beginning of his "political career", to which the tech founder quickly said, "No, it's not".
On Thursday evening, after a reporter asked Zuckerberg about free speech concerns in Britain, Trump quipped, "This is the beginning of your political career". Responding to the President's comment, Zuckerberg retorted, "No it's not". Trump then proceeded to answer the reporter's question.
According to CNN, Zuckerberg told Trump that he "wasn't ready" to answer a question from reporters. As reporters left the room, the tech CEO said, "Sorry, I wasn't ready".
President Trump: "This is the beginning of your political career."
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 5, 2025
Mark Zuckerberg: "No it's not."
President Trump jokes with Facebook founder and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg after a reporter asks the two about free speech concerns during a White House event with tech leaders. pic.twitter.com/ZUeYiTXAEs
Trump laughed and leaned over to repeat the comment to First Lady Melania Trump who was seated nearby.
Apart from Zuckerberg, there were other tech CEOs in attendance - Apple's Tim Cook, Microsoft's Satya Nadella and Bill Gates, Google's Sundar Pichai and OpenAI's Sam Altman. Many of the leading tech executives had attended Trump's inauguration.
At the dinner, Trump had asked the Silicon Valley leaders how much they plan to invest in the United States. Tim Cook pledged $600 billion, while Zuckerberg matched the same amount. Pichai promised $250 billion over the next two years and Nadella confirmed $75-80 billion this year.
"I want to thank you for setting the tone such that we could make a major investment in the United States," Cook said. "That says a lot about your focus and your leadership and your focus on innovation."
"That's great, that's great," Trump said. "We're proud of you. Thank you. A lot of jobs, a lot of jobs. Yeah, good."
There were three other Indian-origin bosses, apart from Pichai and Nadella who attended the Rose Garden event. Micron's Sanjay Mehrotra, Palantir executive Shyam Sankar and TIBCO Software chairman Vivek Ranadive.
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