Mark Zuckerberg was busted fighting back a laugh as President Donald Trump tore into a female reporter in front of a group of billionaire men.
The scene unfolded as Trump stepped outside the West Wing after meeting with tech leaders on Tuesday, flanked by Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, among others.
After Amodei finished answering a question about his concerns about AI, reporters peppered him with follow-ups. CNN Senior White House Correspondent Kristen Holmes called out to ask Amodei if he thinks “self-policing” by AI companies was enough to keep AI risks in check.
Trump, 80, cut her off.
“Hold it, hold it, hold it,” he said, leaning forward and pointing his finger at the 40-year-old Holmes.
Trump then turned back to his all-male entourage, telling them, “CNN fake news. She’s fake news. The worst.”
Zuckerberg, 42, appeared to fight back a smile—letting a grin crack before repeatedly biting his lip—as Trump dressed down Holmes.
Zuckerberg has three daughters, ages 10, 9, and 3. He claimed to be a “girl dad” after taking them to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in California. His longtime right-hand woman at Meta, Sheryl Sandberg, became best known for championing female leadership, including writing the best-selling book Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. She left the company in 2022.
Reached for comment, a Meta spokesman declined to provide an on-the-record statement. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Amodei, 43, reacted differently, glancing around uncomfortably as the president lashed out at Holmes, raising a hand as if to signal his exit before ducking his head and retreating toward the back of the group.
Yet he seemed the odd man out in his discomfort.
Sacks, Johnson, and Clayton wore mischievous grins during the president’s outburst, while Musk had an even more bizarre reaction, smacking his lips, rolling his eyes skyward, and lolling his head back.
Zuckerberg, whose net worth is $253 billion by Forbes’ estimate, was once a vocal critic of Trump but has made a 180 during the president’s second term. The Trump administration has since expedited data center permits and backed Meta against bureaucratic red tape in Brussels.
Trump, who has made a habit of lashing out at female reporters, banned CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House this month. However, a district judge he appointed ordered him to temporarily restore their credentials, and he complied.
At another point during the press gaggle outside the West Wing, Trump cut off a female reporter who asked what kind of regulations would be put in place—and specifically, “who should be held accountable if AI agents committed a crime.”
“It’s not AI, it’s S.I.,” the president said. “We’ve changed the name officially today. We’ve changed the name… officially to S.I. Okay? S.I.—like ‘sy’ instead of ‘AI.’ You know what that means? Super Intelligence.”
