On January 3rd Mark Zuckerberg took to Facebook to announce that he planned to “have visited and met people in every state in the US by the end of the year.” He went on to comment that “my hope for this challenge is to get out and talk to more people about how they're living, working and thinking about the future.”
As the presidency of Donald Trump lingers on the horizon, Zuckerberg has taken a hit for the future of America by suggesting that “we need to find a way to change the game so that it works for everyone” (source: Facebook).
Obama's 2008 Campaign Manager joins the 'Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative.'
The main question is, will Mark Zuckerberg put himself forward for the task of making that change happen in 2020? In the comments below his Facebook status, a comment was left stating that they hoped that he would “talk to real Americans, not just people that make $100k”. To this Zuckerberg replied, “I’m trying to hear from lots of folks from all over the country” (Source: Facebook).
In light of these comments, speculation arose as he invited David Plouffe to join his ‘Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative’ on January 10th. Not only is Plouffe a strategic advisor for Uber, but he also worked as Barack Obama’s campaign manager on his successful 2008 presidential campaign and was appointed as the President’s Senior Advisor in 2011.
Suggestions that Zuckerberg plans Governmental role
In April 2016 Forbes reported that a loophole exists in Facebook’s proxy statement suggesting Zuckerberg may maintain governance over Facebook if he chooses to take voluntary leave to work for the Government or in office. This was later supported in December 2016, when Bloomberg revealed court documents that showed text messages exchanged between Zuckerberg and Facebook Board member Marc Andreessen.
These messages revealed that he wants to retain control of Facebook while serving at least two years in Government. While Facebook has been accused in the past of promoting a liberal agenda, last may employees admitted that the site’s ‘trending’ section quashes conservative news for more liberal topics and groups. We can only speculate at this point, but if the events of 2016 are anything to go by, a Zuckerberg 2020 campaign cannot be ruled out.
