Tech bigwigs, crypto fans, and a growing number of deep-pocketed venture capitalists (VCs) are starting to line up behind Donald Trump, who is avidly courting this forward-thinking group. The former president will attend the Bitcoin2024 conference in Nashville, TN, today, July 27, where he hopes to raise funds for his re-election bid. From tech entrepreneur Elon Musk and ultra-wealthy hedge fund manager Bill Ackman to David Sacks, Marc Andreessen, and the Winklevoss twins, the tide in Silicon Valley is turning in Trump’s favor.
The Silicon Valley Switcheroo
Silicon Valley is accustomed to toeing the Democratic Party line, but things are changing dramatically this election. For one thing, GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vance worked as a VC under right-leaning Peter Thiel’s brainchild, Mithril Capital. Vance has large holdings in tech and cryptocurrency and has also invested significantly in the Thiel-backed AI defense tech being developed at Anduril Industries. To be fair, Silicon Valley has always expressed a pro-business bent, seeking lower taxes and acceleration for their industry. But because this sector is populated by younger men and women who skew socially liberal, the Democratic Party has done its best to keep this voting bloc under its sway.
As Sacks recently tweeted:
“Tech industry publication The Information just casually mentioning that being a Trump supporter used to get you pink-slipped in Silicon Valley. Because, you know, liberals are so tolerant.”
Sacks and others aren’t hiding their disdain for the left. They're turned off by the idea of a wealth tax, too, because it would hurt the bottom line. Many, like Musk, see regulation and government bureaucracy as hindrances to their success and have deep-seated libertarian tendencies similar to Ayn Rand's, a late author and philosopher best known for her novel Atlas Shrugged (1957).
How Many Techies Back Trump Now?
The big names that have come forward to support Trump and help fund a November victory are far from representative of Silicon Valley, which still has a decidedly liberal and Democratic tendency. But people like Doug Leone, Joe Lonsdale, Andreessen, Sacks, and Musk are far from merely blips on the radar. And their willingness to take hits in the media to support MAGA represents a U-turn for a significant portion of Silicon Valley.
Trump sat down with GOP leaders before the convention to soften the socially conservative platform planks such as taking a hard stance against abortion and the LGBT movement, so the Republican Party is doing its best to cast as wide a net as possible. Trump has also mitigated his previously negative comments on cryptocurrency and Bitcoin, which in 2021 he called a “scam.”
Gaining the support of rich VCs and tech wizards is about more than just money — it’s also about gaining media momentum and mining a rich talent pool for the potential Trump administration. The questionable power of companies like Palantir doesn’t cancel the fact that they’re enormously influential corporations that can make a mark on an election.
Musk's promise to back a pro-Trump PAC and large contributions from Lonsdale and the Winklevosses ($2 million in Bitcoin) show that this is far more than just talk. As Delian Asparouhov of another Thiel-backed VC group, the Founders Fund, reacted to the selection of Vance as VP:
“It’s JD Vance. We have a former tech VC in the White House. Greatest country on earth baby.”
Silicon Valley hotshots increasingly see Trump as their guy. And they're looking at individual races across the country to get rid of people they consider unfriendly to tech development and other industry interests. For example, the Winklevoss twins recently donated huge amounts to John Deaton, a lawyer and crypto champion, in his run to unseat Democratic incumbent Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.
Although Deaton doesn’t yet have the official nomination, the twins say Warren’s campaign and its anti-crypto “lapdogs,” like Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler, must be defeated. Their efforts, though, are more about supporting crypto and advancing business affairs and less about an ideological sea change in Silicon Valley.
With Trump already surging in national polls, growing popularity and public support from Silicon Valley is an added boost. Traditionally, being Republican in Silicon Valley was decidedly unpopular. As Sacks noted, it could even cost you your job if it became public. Now, new VCs and tech industry leaders can’t rush fast enough to climb aboard the Trump train.
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