One of the big developments in the tech space this week was the announcement by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg that he has no intention of running for president bringing an end, sort of, to insinuations that he is interested in occupying the most powerful position in the world. Taking a closer though, I think he is in the best position to be US President.
Zuckerberg told Buzzfeed: “No, I’m focused on building our community at Facebook and working on the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.”
People got the idea that he might be eyeing the presidency when he made political comments and announced a tour of US states.
Legally, Zuckerberg who is currently 32-year-old would be old enough to stand for president in 2020. In April 2016, it was revealed that Facebook had agreed to changes to its company structure that would allow Zuckerberg to stand in an election.
He has also softened his approach to religion, describing it as “very important”, in a Christmas post.
Zuckerberg had previously described himself as an atheist, which might have limited his appeal with some US citizens. In January, he announced a “personal challenge” to visit and speak to people in every US state, including 30 he had not visited before.
Presidential candidates typically tour US states to drum up support. Buzzfeed said Zuckerberg had “not immediately responded” to further questions about possible political ambitions.
I strongly believe that even though he’s not yet the president, Zuckerberg is the most powerful man in the world considering the fact his company is in charge of the data and personal lives of data of billions of people across the world. He basically runs the world’s e-government and can easily get intelligence reports from across the world.
Furthermore, the future is going to be more tech-driven and who else can give US an edge than Zuckerberg? He’s actively involved in charting the future of tech globally and the American people will need a transformative leader that is part of the future.
Another great thing about Zuckerberg as president is the fact that he has a good story to tell – he is a role model for many people across the world, his family appears too-good-to-be-true and he has comported himself in a worthy manner since he appeared on the global radar. No one has come out to accuse him of sexual harassment, he is very charitable, open-minded about other peoples’ beliefs and is globally respected.
He is also someone that will be easily accepted by global leaders – most of whom he had already won over and has direct connection to. Even though I strongly believe that Zuckerberg would make a good president and his life is a personification of the American dream, the campaign season could reveal many sides of him that were previously unknown to the rest of us – but one thing is very sure, if America can elect Donald Trump as president, Zuckerberg is more than qualified to occupy that position. Come to think of it, America elected Trump, why not Mark Zuckerberg?
