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Donald Trump has threatened to imprison Mark Zuckerberg for life if the Meta chief executive attempts to “plot against” him in the upcoming presidential election.
The former president has repeatedly claimed – without evidence – that the tech tycoon intervened in the 2020 presidential election in favor of Joe Biden, which saw the Democratic inaugurated on January 20, 2021.
Now, in his upcoming book Save America, Trump has declared that Zuckerberg will “spend the rest of his life in prison” if he tries to cross him before Americans cast their votes on November 5.
“We are watching him closely, and if he does anything illegal this time he will spend the rest of his life in prison – as will others who cheat in the 2024 Presidential Election,” Trump wrote, according to an excerpt first seen by Politico.
The photo-led, coffee table book is set to be released on Tuesday, retailing at $99 for an unsigned version, with customers having to fork out an additional $400 if they’d like a signed copy, according to its publisher Winning Team Publishing.
One undated photo in Save America is said to show a meeting between Trump and the Facebook founder in the White House. In a caption under the image, the former president writes that Zuckerberg “would come to the Oval Office to see me”.
He continued: “He would bring his very nice wife to dinners, be as nice as anyone could be, while always plotting to install shameful Lock Boxes in a true PLOT AGAINST THE PRESIDENT.”
Trump was seemingly referencing Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan funneling almost $420m into the election infrastructure during the Covid-19 pandemic to “make it easier for people to cast their ballots,” the couple said in October 2020.
“He told me there was nobody like Trump on Facebook. But at the same time, and for whatever reason, steered it against me,” Trump wrote.
It comes after Zuckerberg sent a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan on Monday claiming that the Biden administration pressured Facebook to censor Covid-19 content back in 2021.
“I believe the government pressure was wrong and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it,” Zuckerberg wrote. “I also think we made some choices that, with the benefit of hindsight and new information, we wouldn’t make today.”
A White House spokesperson told The Independent the Biden administration had simply “encouraged responsible actions” to protect public health and safety.
But Trump has attempted to capitalize on Zuckerberg’s letter by claiming it was evidence that the Biden administration interfered in the 2020 election.
He also baselessly claimed that Zuckerberg said Meta “temporarily demoted” a New York Post story about Hunter Biden’s laptop in 2020 – which included purported emails, text messages and explicit photos.
“Zuckerberg admits that the White House pushed to SUPPRESS HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP STORY (& much more!),” he wrote, seemingly paraphrasing Florida Representative Laurel Lee after appearing on Fox News.
“IN OTHER WORDS, THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION WAS RIGGED.”
Trump has made similar threats to Zuckerberg across social media in recent months.
In July, the former president said he would pursue “ELECTION FRAUDSTERS at levels never seen before, and they will be sent to prison for long periods of time”. He added: “We already know who you are. DON’T DO IT! ZUCKERBUCKS, be careful!”
