Meta’s stock drops after Trump calls Facebook ‘an enemy of the people’
The stock of Meta Platforms dropped Monday after former President Trump labeled Facebook as “an enemy of the people” earlier that day.
Shares for Meta, the parent company of Facebook, dropped by about 4.5 percent to just under $484 after Trump’s Monday interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” Forbes reported that this was the lowest closing for Meta since July of last year.
Trump doubled down on his opposition to a ban on the video-sharing platform TikTok in the United States, which Congress is set to take on this week. He said in his interview that Facebook would become “bigger” if TikTok was no longer allowed in the U.S.
“Frankly, there are a lot of people on TikTok that love it. There are a lot of young kids on TikTok who will go crazy without it. There are a lot of users,” Trump said in the Monday interview.
“There’s a lot of good and a lot of bad with TikTok. But the thing I don’t like is, without TikTok, you can make Facebook bigger. And I consider Facebook to be an enemy of the people, along with the media,” Trump added.
The House is slated to vote on a bill this week that would force ByteDance — the China-based parent company of TikTok — to divest itself of the video app or face a ban on the platform in the U.S. The bill, sponsored by Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), advanced out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee with unanimous support Thursday.
Trump signaled last week that he opposed the bill despite previously supporting a ban on the video-sharing platform while he was in office.
“If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their business,” Trump said Friday on Truth Social, referring to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. “I don’t want Facebook, who cheated in the last Election, doing better. They are a true Enemy of the People!”
CNN reported that Meta’s shares also dropped by 1.2 percent on Friday following Trump’s post.
The Hill has reached out to Meta for comment.
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