Zuckerberg’s 2017 Resolution

Michael de Silva, Staff Writer

With the start of 2017, people around the world made new year’s resolutions. Mark Zuckerberg, the creator and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Facebook, decided to share his. He plans to visit every state he has not yet been to yet in order to learn about how people live. The media speculates this is one of many moves suggesting a possible run for office.

Zuckerberg’s travels will take place in the form of a 30-state listening tour. The list of states has yet to be confirmed, nor have the dates of his visits. What is more important is what has happened leading up to this announcement. In December, it was revealed that Zuckerberg persuaded Facebook to allow him to retain ownership of his social network company in the event of him taking a leave of absence to serve in government or political office. Later that month, he stated that he is not an atheist anymore. When USA Today contacted Facebook for a comment, they did not respond.

In order to run for president of the United States, candidates must be 35 years old. Zuckerberg is only 32, but these steps could still be done in preparation for a campaign while Donald Trump is in office. The night after Trump’s election, Zuckerberg wrote “Holding [daughter] Max, I thought about all the work ahead of us to create the world we want for our children.” It is likely that he wishes to progress in the opposite direction that Trump is planning to take. The results of the 2016 election could be a major motivating factor in Zuckerberg’s signs towards a run for office.

If Zuckerberg runs for president, he may not even be the only candidate without political experience. Kanye West has stated multiple times that he wants to campaign for office. Despite this, West has met with Trump on several occasions, and has claimed to support him, so it is unlikely that he would run against him in 2020.

Whether or not Zuckerberg truly plans to run for office is yet to be seen. However, with his 2017 tour in the works, more information is sure to be released throughout the year.