Mark Zuckerberg Will Not Run for President The entrepreneur is focused on Facebook and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
This story originally appeared on PCMag
Mark Zuckerberg will not be the next President of the United States.
The Facebook founder and CEO told BuzzFeed News that "no," he does not have any plans to run for Commander in Chief.
"I'm focused on building our community at Facebook and working on the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative," he said on Tuesday.
A Facebook spokesman declined to comment further to PCMag.
The rebuff comes weeks after Zuck revealed plans to visit and meet people in 30 states -- a move many believed was the start of the entrepreneur's political career.
Other clues hinted at a possible run: Last month Zuckerberg stated that he now believes "religion is very important." He also convinced Facebook's board to let him retain control of his company -- even if he takes a leave of absence to serve "in a government position or office." And David Plouffe, Obama's 2008 campaign manager in 2008, recently joined the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to lead its policy and advocacy effort.
Zuckerberg also employs a personal communications management team. Some help write posts and speeches, others delete harassing comments and spam on his page; a professional photographer documents his life.
But the 32-year-old is more interested in fulfilling his civic duty as a private citizen, BuzzFeed said, citing a source close to Zuckerberg. "There's absolutely no truth to the idea that Mark is running for office and I've heard it directly from him," the anonymous confidant told the news site, adding that Zuckerberg identifies Facebook as a "global community" that "plays an incredibly important role in shaping the base on the issues that matter."
It's possible, however, that Zuck "may choose to play a stronger role in the political system and political debates," the source said.
