Trump calls Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg ‘criminal’ for giving $ 400m to election offices

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Former President Donald Trump lashed out at Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a statement, accusing the social media executive of being a “criminal” for donating hundreds of millions of dollars to local election offices.

“Mark Zuckerberg, in my opinion, a criminal, is allowed to spend more than $ 400 million and therefore could change the course of a Presidential Election, and nothing is happening on Facebook,” Trump said in an emailed statement. to supporters.

It is unclear whether Mr Trump is implying that Mr Zuckerberg is making campaign donations to his enemies or whether he is accusing the CEO of manipulating the election through his donations.

Last year, Mr Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan donated $ 400m to local election offices to help them deal with personal election disruptions caused by the coronavirus.

The money went to the purchase of masks and gloves for workers and for additional equipment to help election officials organize and process mail ballots.

A spokesman for Mr Zuckerberg and Ms Chan responded to the former president’s comment in a statement to Business Insider.

“When our country’s election infrastructure faced unprecedented challenges last year due to the pandemic and the federal government failed to provide adequate funding, Mark and Priscilla provided funding to two non-partisans. organizations that help cities and states ensure that residents can vote regardless of their party or preference. ”

The spokesman also pointed out that the funds were not only distributed to Democratic districts, and more Republican districts applied for and were given money.

Regardless, Republicans have tried to block money in nine swing states, arguing that it was a “stealth campaign” to rig the election.

At the time, Mr Zuckerberg responded to a lengthy post explaining the donations, noting that he agreed with critics who said the government – not private donors – should fund the changes needed to ensure that elections will not be disrupted by pandemic.

“Since our first donation, there have been numerous lawsuits filed in an attempt to block these funds from being used, based on claims that the organizations receiving donations have a partisan agenda,” he wrote. “That’s wrong. These funds will serve communities across the country – urban, rural and suburban – and are allocated by non -partisan organizations. “

Mr Trump’s latest attack comes as he sparks his latest effort, a social media company that aims to give conservatives an alternative to Facebook and Twitter. Previous attempts at such sites – such as “Frank” by MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and former Mr Trump spokesman Jason Miller “Gettr” – have been unsuccessful.

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