Donald Trump, addressing a gathering of global elites, described a proposed Meta AI data center as “basically the size of Manhattan,” a claim that sent Meta’s stock briefly surging on January 21, 2026. The anecdote, recounted during a Q&A session following his address at the World Economic Forum, signals a marked shift in the relationship between the former president and the tech company’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg.
Trump’s description painted a picture of a facility “miles long, miles wide, and very high,” covering “most of the island” of Manhattan. While the scale appears exaggerated – Manhattan itself comprises 22 square miles – the remark highlighted the sheer ambition and cost of Meta’s AI infrastructure investments. Trump contrasted the $50 billion price tag with the cost of traditional real estate development, referencing his own experience as a builder. The $50 billion figure aligns with the projected cost of Meta’s “Hyperion” data center campus currently under construction in Richland Parish, Louisiana, a 2,250-acre project slated to open in 2030.
The overt praise from Trump represents a significant departure from the fraught relationship between the former president and Meta during his first term. In 2020, Trump’s administration filed a lawsuit against Facebook, alleging anti-competitive practices. That lawsuit, finally reaching trial in April 2025, was ultimately decided in Meta’s favor in November of the same year, a victory described by Bloomberg as a triumph for Zuckerberg.
The shift in tone coincides with a broader realignment of Zuckerberg’s strategy toward the Trump administration. Just five years prior, in 2020, Meta – then still known as Facebook – had publicly committed to improving the health and safety of its social media platform. However, by January 2025, as noted by Tulane University business professor Rob Lalka, Zuckerberg was undertaking “a huge change” in approach, embracing a closer relationship with Trump. Lalka, speaking to Quartz, suggested this wasn’t a sudden decision but a deliberate evolution.
This evolution included a $1 million donation from Meta to Trump’s inaugural fund in January 2026, a move described by NYU Stern’s Business & Human Rights Center as an attempt to “appease” the incoming president. The donation followed a Trump executive order on AI in December 2025, which critics warned created a “dangerous regulatory vacuum.” Further complicating the dynamic, Trump’s administration had previously imposed a visa ban on content moderators, a decision that some observers believed aided America’s adversaries.
The recent display of cordiality, culminating in Trump’s public acknowledgement of Meta’s AI ambitions, suggests a strategic calculation on both sides. Meta appears to be seeking favorable regulatory conditions and a more predictable political environment, while Trump benefits from associating with a powerful and innovative technology company. The implications of this evolving relationship remain to be seen, particularly as Meta continues to invest heavily in AI and navigate a complex landscape of international regulation.
