Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly trash-talked his former top lieutenant Sheryl Sandberg during his visit to Mar-a-Lago, blaming her for implementing controversial DEI initiatives at Facebook that “encouraged employees’ self-expression in the workplace.”
Zuckerberg, who has drawn criticism for cozying up to the new administration, made the comment during a sit-down with President-elect Donald Trump’s advisors at his Florida retreat shortly after the Republican’s historic election victory in November, according to the New York Times.
The discussions on Nov. 27 — which including Stephen Miller, who will take over as White House deputy chief of staff — covered a range of of hot-button topics such as the administration’s expected crackdowns on immigration, and diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, the Times reported.
Miller told Zuckerberg that the billionaire mogul he had “an opportunity to help reform America, but it would be on Trump’s terms,” according to the Times.
The 40-year-old tech tycoon was “amenable” and said that he and his top executives at Meta would “do nothing to obstruct the Trump agenda,” individuals familiar with the meeting told the Times.
Zuckerberg reportedly threw Sandberg under the bus for pushing the “inclusivity initiative” and said that Meta would scrap its DEI policies.
“[Zuckerberg] said new guidelines and a series of layoffs amounted to a reset and that more changes were coming,” the Times reported, citing someone with knowledge of the meeting.
Meta, Zuckerberg insisted, would focus “solely on building tech products,” the Times reported.
After the meeting, Zuckerberg dispatched his top deputies to Mar-a-Lago to inform Trump transition officials of planned changes at Meta, according to the Times report.
Zuckerberg, who donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund, has instituted a wholesale makeover at Meta in recent weeks following his meeting with Miller.
He laid off about 5% of its workforce, ended third party fact-checking and censorship programs and did away with DEI initiatives.
Meta also appointed new board members, including pro-Trump UFC President Dana White, Stellantis chairman John Elkann and former Microsoft executive Charlie Songhurst.
The Post has sought comment from Meta, the Trump transition team and Sandberg.
Sandberg, 54, served as Meta’s COO for 14 years, spearheading development of the Facebook advertising juggernaut that comprises the vast bulk of Meta’s revenue.
She shockingly quit in 2022. At the time, she claimed she wanted to give more energy to philanthropy, women’s advocacy and personal projects.
But reports suggested that her departure stemmed from increased regulatory scrutiny of Meta’s business practices as well as internal tensions over content moderation, political advertising and corporate culture shifts.
While she did not publicly link her exit to these challenges, her influence within the company had reportedly waned as Zuckerberg shifted Meta’s focus toward the metaverse and cost-cutting measures.
A government official in the Treasury Department during the Clinton administration, Sandberg wrote the 2013 book “Lean in,” which encourages women to be more aggressive in climbing the corporate ladder.
Before Zuckerberg hired her to help run Facebook, Sandberg helped to develop Google’s ad program while working for the search engine.
