Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Thursday that the 2016 primary elections were a tipping point for his motivation to become more involved in political issues.

Zuckerberg told Bloomberg Businessweek that just over a year ago during the primaries, he noticed “something changed” in how the public perceived Facebook's mission.

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“I guess it was while the primaries were going on,” Zuckerberg said. “I mean, for most of the existence of the company, this idea of connecting the world has not been a controversial thing.”

In April 2016, when candidates were still vying for party nominations, Zuckerberg took what was seen as a jab at then-candidate Donald Trump Donald John TrumpBiden leads Trump by 36 points nationally among Latinos: poll Trump dismisses climate change role in fires, says Newsom needs to manage forest better Jimmy Kimmel hits Trump for rallies while hosting Emmy Awards MORE’s border policy.

“Instead of building walls, we can help build bridges,” the Facebook CEO said at F8, Facebook’s yearly developer conference. Zuckerberg had largely been tight lipped on politics until then.

The comment prefaced Zuckerberg dipping his toes deeper into politics and policy.

In December, after the election, he announced that he would be visiting every state in 2017. Political analysts and media have compared Zuckerberg’s travels to the type of political speaking tour that politicians often embark on before they announce their presidential campaigns.

“Every great community has great leaders who take responsibility for people’s well-being,” he told Businessweek.

Since the F8 event, Zuckerberg has more frequently offered his perspective on policy issues.

During a Harvard commencement speech, Zuckerberg urged students to “fight the forces of authoritarianism,” and advocated for prison system reform, a universal basic income and fighting climate change.