Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement Tuesday that he plans to have visited all 50 US states by the end of the year stoked speculation that the Facebook CEO could be laying the groundwork for a presidential bid.
Mark Zuckerberg (R), founder and CEO of Facebook, and wife Priscilla Chan arrive on the red carpet during the 2nd annual Breakthrough Prize Award in Mountain View, California in this November 9, 2014 file photo. REUTERS/Stephen Lam
“Going into this challenge, it seems we are at a turning point in history. For decades, technology and globalization have made us more productive and connected. This has created many benefits, but for a lot of people it has also made life more challenging. This has contributed to a greater sense of division than I have felt in my lifetime,” Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday. “We need to find a way to change the game so it works for everyone.
Having already visited roughly 20 states by the end of 2016, Zuckerberg will need to visit about 30 states in 2017.
His 50 states challenge is just the latest sign that Mark Zuckerberg could be looking to run for office. (RELATED: Leaked Emails Show Facebook Exec Shared Research With Clinton Campaign)
Text messages sent between Zuckerberg and Facebook board member Marc Andreessen reveal Zuckerberg wants to — if possible — retain control of Facebook while serving at least two years in government, according to court documents reviewed by Bloomberg last month.
This is consistent with a Forbes report in April 2016 which noted that Facebook’s proxy statement contains a loophole allowing Zuckerberg to retain control of the company if he takes a voluntary leave of absence “for government service or office.”
Zuckerberg previously launched a lobbying group, Fwd.US, which advocates for immigration reform.
Under Zuckerberg’s watch, Facebook has been consistently accused of pushing a liberal agenda. (RELATED: Snopes, Which Will Be Fact-Checking For Facebook, Employs Leftists Almost Exclusively)
Former Facebook employees admitted last May that the social network consistently suppressed conservative news and topics on the site’s “trending” topics section, while artificially promoting liberal topics like Black Lives Matter to make them seem more popular than they were in reality.