Former President Donald Trump was a figurehead in Silicon Valley.
Almost all dollars Spending by Silicon Valley elites in 2016 went to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. In 2020, those are elite spent more To defeat Trump. Those who supported Trump that year — such as venture capitalist Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal and Palantir — did so knowing they stood on the third rail, and many did not speak about it publicly for fear of hurtful backlash. their business.
A few things have changed since the last election.
This week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Elon Musk, who Endorsed Trump on Saturday Later plans were made to send an assassination attempt against him $45 million a month At a pro-Trump super PAC starting in July. (Musk appeared to push back with the reporting Mem in X read: “fake GNUS.”)
Prominent tech investor and entrepreneur David Sachs — who previously said Trump should be Disqualified from office On January 6, 2021, for his actions surrounding the uprising at the US Capitol – now supported the former president. the sack Addressed the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on monday
Andreessen Horowitz, one of Silicon Valley’s largest venture capital firms, recently indicated that it Donate generously To PACs supporting Trump.
“The blue wall of technology is crumbling before our eyes,” said Ryan Selkis, founder and CEO of crypto research firm Messery. Wrote in X last month
Selkies’ assessment may not be entirely true. By most indications, Silicon Valley is still overwhelmingly Democratic. But the tech elites who are supporting Trump are more comfortable doing so openly and without fear of being ostracized for it.
Why are some Silicon Valley leaders supporting Trump?
Silicon Valley is not undergoing a seismic right-shift.
As of 2022, More than half of voters San Mateo and Santa Clara counties (which surround Silicon Valley) had registered Democrats. This share has not changed much since the 1970s. The share of voters with no party preference increased, while the share of Republican voters shrank to about 15 percent in 2022.
Silicon Valley venture capitalists also appear to be supporting Democrats at a higher rate than average over the past 10 election cycles. A recent wired analysis It found that Democrats received $2 for every dollar that Republicans received from the 20 organizations that made the most political contributions together with their employees.
This suggests that Silicon Valley’s political outlook is still largely aligned with a 2017 study Indicates that wealthy technologists support many liberal policies: wealth redistribution, abortion, gay rights, immigration, and more.
But there was one issue on which, even in 2017, they clashed with Democrats: them Didn’t want government intervention In managing their business. And that could drive at least some support for Trump among Silicon Valley elites this election cycle.
President Joe Biden has taken a hard line against Big Tech that may be perceived by some donors as excessive. The administration has filed sweeping antitrust cases against four major tech companies: Apple, Google (now known as Alphabet), metaAnd the amazon.
Since the collapse of crypto exchange FTX and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried, the Biden administration has also Crypto Crack DownFiling lawsuits against Coinbase and Binance and trying to push for stricter regulation.
Trump’s new running mate, JD Vance, appears to broadly share the philosophy of the Biden administration: He Congratulate Lina Khan, the head of the Federal Trade Commission behind the antitrust case against Big Tech. It’s unclear whether he’ll moderate that position now that he’s running for vice president, but some tech titans appear to be backing the Republican ticket anyway.
Andreessen Horowitz has previously suggested that government regulations determine which parties get their dollars. “We’re nonpartisan, single-issue voters: If a candidate supports an optimistic tech-enabled future, we’re on their side. If they want to stop important technology, we are against them The firm announced In December.
A The video was posted on TuesdayFounders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz also explained why their firm would support Trump.
“The future of our business, the future of new technology, and the future of America is literally at stake,” Horowitz said, adding that he would anger friends and family. “We think Donald Trump is actually the right choice.”
Crypto leaders, who have been around for years pour money Also contributed to the fight against further regulation of the industry more heavy To the Republicans. Crypto PAC Stand With Crypto has not issued an endorsement for the presidency but has identified Trump and Robert F. Kennedy. A better option than biden.
Beyond regulation, it seems some Silicon Valley billionaires are becoming more vocal in their support of Trump because they can’t stand a boycott or a lot of bad press. For example, Musk has always been a bit of a contrarian but has adopted a more politically active presence online since buying Twitter and renaming it X. And though his position may be Its costs are to users and advertisers Early in his X term, his endorsement of Trump has yet to face a similar backlash.
Biden is behind the fundraising
Despite the support Trump is getting from some wealthy backers in Silicon Valley, the Biden campaign should be concerned.
as Last campaign finance report By late May, Trump had surpassed Biden in cash-on-hand. Trump’s campaign had $116.6 million compared to Biden’s $91.6 million.
That advantage has likely only grown over the months. Biden said Struggled with fundraising From his disastrous debate performance last month. Some donors think he should drop out and have pledged Suspend donations to Democrats Until he does; Others have halted contributions while they await assurances that he will not be replaced with another Democratic candidate.
Trump, meanwhile, has Start fundraising off assassination attempts against him His campaign website redirected A picture of him punching the air with blood on his face at a campaign rally where he was shot in the ear.
If Musk is indeed planning to continue contributing millions of dollars to Trump’s campaign through the election, it’s hard to see how Biden can keep up.
