US President Donald Trump and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg were caught in a hilarious hot mic incident on Friday during a dinner party arranged by POTUS for the tech giants of Silicon Valley. Zuckerberg was heard saying to President Donald Trump that he was unsure how to answer a question when asked about his investment plans.
Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and OpenAI founder Sam Altman, alongside Zuckerberg, were invited by Trump with a notable absence of Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Awkward Exchange Between Donald Trump And Mark Zuckerberg
During the televised event, Trump asked Zuckerberg how much Meta planned to invest in the United States.
“Oh gosh, um, I think it’s probably gonna be, something like, I don’t know, at least $600 billion through ’28, in the US, yeah,” Zuckerberg replied.
Mark Zuckerberg gets caught on a hot mic admitting he is totally making up Meta’s U.S. investment numbers based on whatever Trump wants to hear:
— Spencer Hakimian (@SpencerHakimian) September 5, 2025
Trump remarked that it was a significant sum, to which Zuckerberg agreed, saying, “Yeah, no it’s significant.”
Later, Zuckerberg was overheard apologizing to Trump, admitting he hadn’t been prepared for the question.
“I wasn’t sure what number you wanted to go with,” he confessed. Trump laughed and told First Lady Melania, seated next to him, that Zuckerberg wasn’t ready.
Mark Zuckerberg Says He Wasn’t Paying Attention
Zuckerberg also admitted that he “wasn’t paying attention” when asked by a reporter about free speech legislation in the UK. Trump joked that it marked the start of Zuckerberg’s political career, which the CEO denied with a laugh.
Other tech leaders shared their US investment plans. Pichai said Google planned to invest $250 billion, while Cook confirmed Apple’s $600 billion investment.
“I want to thank you for setting the tone such that we can make a major investment in the United States and have some key manufacturing here,” Cook said. “I think it says a lot about your leadership and focus on innovation.”
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
