Run Mark Run? Zuckerberg Insists He’s Not Trading Facebook for White House

Image by Getty Images/ Lior Zaltzman

By Dave Goldiner January 25, 2017

He’s young, charismatic, liberal — and loaded.

Despite checking off some key boxes, Mark Zuckerberg insists he’s not plotting a run for the White House in 2020 — or the foreseeable future.

“I’m focused on building our community at Facebook and working on the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative,” Zuckerberg, 32, told Buzzfeed.

The Facebook CEO has sparked speculation by inserting a clause in his contract that allows him to take leave to fill a “political office.”

He also hired Obama campaign guru David Plouffe to a key lobbying post.

After Hillary Clinton’s devastating loss to Donald Trump, some Democrats think an outside-the-Beltway figure could turn their fortunes around.

But pals say taking a shot at becoming the most powerful man in the world doesn’t interest Zuckerberg, who’s busy with a young family.

Or actually he thinks he might already has that gig at the social media behemoth.

“There’s absolutely no truth to the idea that Mark is running for office and I’ve heard it directly from him,” the source said. “Here’s the thing: For Mark, Facebook is global community that already plays this huge part in the lives of billions of people around the world

Dave Goldiner is the Forward’s director of digital media. Dave is a veteran journalist who has spent two decades working at newspapers in the United States and Africa. A native New Yorker, Goldiner wrote for the New York Daily News, where he covered some of the biggest stories of our time, including the attacks of September 11, along with thousands of stories of hope and heartbreak. He also studied and worked in Southern Africa and has written for publications in South Africa and Zimbabwe. He holds masters degrees in journalism and public administration from Columbia University. Dave can be reached at [email protected], or follow him on Twitter @davegoldiner

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO