'My company needs a backbone': Dana White reveals how Mark Zuckerberg convinced him to join Meta's board of directors
Dana White said Mark Zuckerberg displayed gigantic American flags on his property the day White visited him in Lake Tahoe.The UFC president announced in January that he was joining the Meta board of directors, the company that operates Facebook and Instagram under Zuckerberg.The move came as a shock considering Meta and Zuckerberg's history of censorship and alignment with Democrat-led policies.On a recent episode of "The Tucker Carlson Show," White explained to host Tucker Carlson how he first got in contact with Zuckerberg and visited him for a discussion.Carlson brought the subject up by joking that Zuckerberg is an alien:"Are you concerned that at your next Meta meeting, you'll lock eyes with Mark Zuckerberg, and he will steal your soul?" Carlson laughed. "Do you not get that alien vibe, at all?"White rebuffed, "If I felt that way about Zuckerberg, I would have never been on the board."The UFC boss then explained his original contact with Zuckerberg, which came through White's head of public relations, led to long-lasting relationship. The communications employee told White that Zuckerberg was looking for his number and asked if it could be provided to the social media mogul. Zuckerberg then called White and invited him to his home in Lake Tahoe for dinner. It was there that White was impressed by Zuckerberg's decor and the overall vibe of the setting."[I] walk into his living room of his house, and they put me in the living room to wait, and he's got this American flag on the wall with 13 stars on it and I'm like, 'off to a good start.'"White said he was also impressed by the "biggest American flag you've ever seen in your life, rippling in the wind" in Zuckerberg's backyard over the lake.He then told Carlson, "We sit down, we have dinner, and we probably talk for four hours, and I walked away from that first meeting liking Mark, and we started to create a relationship from there. We talked ... and we became friends."'You always seem to be on the right side of everything.'White said the friendship grew through a proposed fight between Zuckerberg and Elon Musk — which could have happened in Rome's Colosseum — but culminated in Zuckerberg requesting that White join his board of directors after the Republican National Convention. "I flew from Italy to the RNC, I spoke at the RNC, I flew back to Italy [to] my vacation with my family, and I got a text from Mark that said, 'Hey, can you talk for a minute?' [I] called him back, and this is what he said to me: 'I think you're a great businessman, you always seem to be on the right side of everything, and my company needs a backbone, and I would be honored if you would sit on the board for Meta.'"Not convinced, Carlson chimed back, "[Zuckerberg] gave $350 million to Joe Biden's campaign in 2020, that's kind of wild that he's watching you at the RNC and is like, 'I like what you have to say, I want you on the Meta board.' What do you make of that?"White simply replied, "I don't know."The two carried on, with White revealing that his own sister was not a fan of him joining Meta's board; Carlson admitted he got along with White's sister, swimmingly.White said he has an upcoming two-day board meeting at Meta — the first he will attend — where he will provide his expertise and add his thoughts when he feels necessary.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Dana White said Mark Zuckerberg displayed gigantic American flags on his property the day White visited him in Lake Tahoe.
The UFC president announced in January that he was joining the Meta board of directors, the company that operates Facebook and Instagram under Zuckerberg.
The move came as a shock considering Meta and Zuckerberg's history of censorship and alignment with Democrat-led policies.
On a recent episode of "The Tucker Carlson Show," White explained to host Tucker Carlson how he first got in contact with Zuckerberg and visited him for a discussion.
Carlson brought the subject up by joking that Zuckerberg is an alien:
"Are you concerned that at your next Meta meeting, you'll lock eyes with Mark Zuckerberg, and he will steal your soul?" Carlson laughed. "Do you not get that alien vibe, at all?"
White rebuffed, "If I felt that way about Zuckerberg, I would have never been on the board."
The UFC boss then explained his original contact with Zuckerberg, which came through White's head of public relations, led to long-lasting relationship. The communications employee told White that Zuckerberg was looking for his number and asked if it could be provided to the social media mogul.
Zuckerberg then called White and invited him to his home in Lake Tahoe for dinner. It was there that White was impressed by Zuckerberg's decor and the overall vibe of the setting.
"[I] walk into his living room of his house, and they put me in the living room to wait, and he's got this American flag on the wall with 13 stars on it and I'm like, 'off to a good start.'"
White said he was also impressed by the "biggest American flag you've ever seen in your life, rippling in the wind" in Zuckerberg's backyard over the lake.
He then told Carlson, "We sit down, we have dinner, and we probably talk for four hours, and I walked away from that first meeting liking Mark, and we started to create a relationship from there. We talked ... and we became friends."
'You always seem to be on the right side of everything.'
White said the friendship grew through a proposed fight between Zuckerberg and Elon Musk — which could have happened in Rome's Colosseum — but culminated in Zuckerberg requesting that White join his board of directors after the Republican National Convention.
"I flew from Italy to the RNC, I spoke at the RNC, I flew back to Italy [to] my vacation with my family, and I got a text from Mark that said, 'Hey, can you talk for a minute?' [I] called him back, and this is what he said to me: 'I think you're a great businessman, you always seem to be on the right side of everything, and my company needs a backbone, and I would be honored if you would sit on the board for Meta.'"
Not convinced, Carlson chimed back, "[Zuckerberg] gave $350 million to Joe Biden's campaign in 2020, that's kind of wild that he's watching you at the RNC and is like, 'I like what you have to say, I want you on the Meta board.' What do you make of that?"
White simply replied, "I don't know."
The two carried on, with White revealing that his own sister was not a fan of him joining Meta's board; Carlson admitted he got along with White's sister, swimmingly.
White said he has an upcoming two-day board meeting at Meta — the first he will attend — where he will provide his expertise and add his thoughts when he feels necessary.
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Originally Published at Daily Wire, World Net Daily, or The Blaze
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