Off The Record
Trump Is Visiting Silicon Valley With The Intention of Raising Funds
In Silicon Valley, the home of tech billionaires, there was formerly little public support for Donald Trump, but now there seems to be a systems reset occurring.
According to prominent investor David Sacks, “nobody’s excited about Biden right now,” on his well-liked All In show. “There’s a lot of people who I do think support Trump.”
On Thursday night, the billionaire venture investor is hosting a fundraiser for Trump at his San Francisco home on “billionaire’s row.”
In addition to endorsing the former president, he acknowledged the fundraiser in a post on X, the former Twitter.
“The Biden administration has veered badly off course,” Mr. Sacks said, and “President Trump can lead us back.”
It is said that tickets for the event at his house are going for as much as $300,000 (£234,000). This is Trump’s first fundraiser since his conviction on all 34 counts of felony charges related to hush money in the New York trial.
The renowned left-wing American city has seen controversy surrounding the event.
When he arrived to raise money for his current presidential campaign, a 10-meter (33-foot) inflatable chicken dressed in a striped prisoner’s outfit and bearing a passing resemblance to the former president was there to greet him in jest.
Jason Calacanis, a tech entrepreneur and co-host of All In who opposes Trump, claimed he is being “crucified” by friends who question why he hangs around with Mr. Sacks.
Although Republican presidents Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon were born and raised in California, the state has not supported a Republican for president since the 1980s.
Among the giants of technology, loyalty to the Democratic Party remains the most valuable commodity.
However, a crimson tide, or at least a ripple, could be on the horizon thanks to pro-Trump billionaires like Elon Musk.
Trump was ushered back onto X by the software entrepreneur and world’s richest guy, as per Forbes, who acquired the platform once known as Twitter.
The tech CEOs’ support has a variety of reasons. Some regard him as the epitome of what Silicon Valley refers to as “disrupters,” which are innovative leaders. Others are afraid of President Biden’s plan to increase taxes on the extremely wealthy.
The matter of regulation is another. Democrats have been calling for more regulations on competition and privacy in recent years, despite the fact that Big Tech has adversaries in both parties.
Another Silicon Valley businessman and co-host of “All In,” Chamath Palihapitiya, had previously donated large sums of money to Democrats but has recently begun endorsing Trump.
He stated that he was drawn to “both sides” for various reasons and that he would be happy to help Biden raise money.
“I’ve donated to Bobby Kennedy. I’ve donated to the Democrats massively. And I will donate to Donald Trump,” he declared in the podcast episode that aired on May 31st, just after Trump’s conviction for a crime.
“And if there’s an opportunity to donate to President Biden and really understand where he’s at, I’d donate to him as well.”
The customary tech and Hollywood billionaire backing that the Democrats receive during a presidential election cycle has not exactly been lacking from the Biden campaign.
During a fundraising tour of the West Coast in May, President Biden attended two different events thrown by former Yahoo CEO Marissa Meyer and billionaire venture capitalist Vinod Khosla.
Meanwhile, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman donated $6 million earlier this year to a political action committee that supported Biden. Hoffman is just one of several internet or media billionaires who have made multi-million dollar contributions.
However, since his conviction in New York, Trump has garnered the support of a number of large donors, and he will be aiming to attract more of them during his West Coast tour.
Shaun Maguire, a colossal Silicon Valley investor from Sequoia Venture Capital, commented on X, “I just donated $300k to Trump,” shortly after the ruling on May 30.
Similar to Mr. Palihapitiya, he has previously made large donations to Democrats.
Trump intends to build ties with affluent Silicon Valley tech players, but there are also indications of growing conservative support at the grassroots level.
Former Democrat Jennifer Yan is a computer sector consultant in San Francisco who turned to support the Republican Party. She will not be present at the fundraiser on Thursday. She was just elected to the Republican committee in her community.
Her worries are more about problems at the doorstep than they are about big tech.
“We are a rich city with a $14 billion budget, but the public service has been terrible,” she said to the BBC.
Ms. Yan belongs to a new grassroots organization called the Briones Society, which is centered on the local rather than the national stage. She is unsure about whom she will vote for this autumn. The organization seeks for moderate candidates who aspire to improve living conditions in San Francisco.
The mission statement of the organization states, “We believe there is a large, unheard, and underserved constituency of voters in San Francisco who are tired of virtue signaling from the left and conspiracy theories from the right.”
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