As his path back to the White House takes shape, Donald Trump, whose time in office made him a pariah for many in the business world, has found new supporters among tech leaders.
This month, Elon Musk, the richest person in the world, became the biggest name to endorse the former president and get involved in fundraising efforts.
The move marked the culmination of weeks of growing support for Trump from influential venture capitalists and tech leaders, including former Democratic donor Allison Huynh, investors Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, and crypto players the Winklevoss twins.
Trump is not universally favored.
However, this is a significant shift from just a few years ago, when businesses rushed to distance themselves from Trump in the weeks following the riot at the US Capitol in 2021.
The shift is especially striking coming from Silicon Valley, where a Republican’s support for banning gay marriage once cost an executive his job.
Nicholas Longo, 27, of wealth management firm Fortuna Investors, stated at a cryptocurrency event at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that he felt a stigma attached to his vote for Trump four years ago.
He stated, “It would have been unwise for me to support Donald Trump in 2020.” Presently, everything that has changed.
On social media, where Mr. Musk and investor David Sacks regularly despise President Joe Biden, the political winds have changed for a long time.
However, their decision to give money to the Trump campaign has the potential to significantly expand their influence beyond their usual circle, which could have significant effects on the outcome of the election.
Trump has been able to close the fundraising gap he had with Mr. Biden a few months ago thanks to the support of tech leaders.
Sarah Bryner, OpenSecrets’ research director, stated, “At the end of April, he was pretty far behind and struggling.” It has changed completely over the past eight weeks.”
She noted that signs of victory at the polls frequently assist in driving potential donors off the fence, and that the pledges sent a strong signal that the tide is turning.
She stated, “Success begets success.”
According to data from OpenSecrets, Democrats received the majority of venture capitalist donations in recent elections, and Mr. Biden’s decision to withdraw from the race is anticipated to pique even more interest.
Trump’s new friends, on the other hand, remain committed.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that Mr. Musk had pledged $45 million per month to the Trump campaign, making him one of the largest donors this year.
The billionaire has acknowledged his involvement in the campaign’s fundraising efforts, but he has denied contributing a substantial amount, stating that his contributions will be “much lower level, external.”
“I put stock in an America that augments individual opportunity and legitimacy. That used to be the Leftist alliance, however presently the pendulum has swung to the Conservative Faction,” Mr Musk composed on X, the virtual entertainment stage he possesses that was previously known as Twitter, after Mr Biden exited.
Experts said the support from key figures in the tech world proposed that Trump was extending his allure.
Sal Russo, a seasoned Republican consultant based in California, stated, “He’s convinced Republicans he’s not as bad as they say… and now we’re seeing that’s broadening out.”
“Do I believe that he will win Santa Clara County? Mr. Russo responded, “No, but he’s going to do better.”
In Trump’s corner: Elon Musk
The Biden administration’s crackdown on crypto and cautious approach to artificial intelligence have concerned tech leaders. A recent executive order, for instance, mandates that businesses adhere to government AI safety standards.
In a recent external essay, Mr. Andreessen and Mr. Horowitz, whose company invests in start-ups and is a major player in crypto and AI, wrote, “Bad government policies are now the #1 threat to Little Tech.” The opportunity has arrived to stand up.”
For a man who had previously avoided making political contributions, Mr. Musk’s decision to support Trump may appear to be a shocking shift.
According to reports, he once stood in line for six hours to shake Barack Obama’s hand. In 2018, he said that he was politically moderate.
In 2017, he was among the primary individuals to stop a White House business board, heading out in different directions from Trump over environmental change strategies.
Tesla, his company, produces electric automobiles, which Trump has repeatedly criticized as being too expensive and difficult to use.
However, Mr. Musk has long objected to financial regulator oversight.
His analysis of Mr Biden sloped up a long time back, after he didn’t get a welcome to a White House conference, a scorn that drove him to tell CNBC he felt, outside unreasonably “overlooked”.
He has become increasingly involved in other social media debates regarding transgender issues, the war in Ukraine, China policy, and Covid lockdowns.
Mr Musk, whose SpaceX rocket firm does billions of dollars of government business, has a relationship with a potential Trump organization to consider too.
Self-interest in Silicon Valley
Democrats noted that Mr. Biden has proposed new taxes on multi-millionaires and unrealized capital gains, and they claimed that the shift in the tech industry was driven by self-interest.
His embrace of organized labor and his administration’s pursuit of tech companies in anti-monopoly and other cases have also alienated some.
Mark Cuban, a businessman who backs Democrats, said that Trump’s popularity was a “bitcoin play,” which is a bet that high inflation and the political chaos Democrats say would happen under a Trump administration could boost cryptocurrency value.
Swing to the right
It would be a mistake, according to Stanford Business School professor Neil Malhotra, to compare the “most vocal people on Twitter” with the tech industry as a whole or even its elites, whose views have historically straddled both parties. Malhotra has studied the political views of tech founders.
He and his colleagues conducted a survey in 2017 and found that tech leaders were united with Democrats on issues like gay marriage, abortion, and even taxes. However, they strongly opposed regulation, leaning Republican.
He mentioned that new social issues like transgender rights, education, and policing have emerged since the survey. In those debates, San Francisco has been a significant battleground, resulting in some tech industry opposition.
“The doubt is that the vast majority in funding are as yet middle left,” Prof Malhotra said. However, he added: There is unquestionably a trend toward the Republican Party.”
Trump’s shift on tech
According to an advisor to the thinktank Foundation for American Innovation, Evan Swarztrauber, technology leaders were betting that Trump would be less involved in crypto and AI.
However, the wager carries some risk.
By reducing taxes, appointing anti-labor officials to oversee labor rights, and generally abstaining from regulation while in office, Trump received praise from the business community.
However, he also initiated some of the ongoing anti-monopoly lawsuits against tech companies, ordered a ban on TikTok, and took a significantly more interventionist approach to the economy and technology than previous administrations.
He has since moderated or reversed himself on issues such as the TikTok ban and crypto, all while pushing the Republican party further in that direction.
According to libertarian Cato Institute senior fellow in tech policy Jennifer Huddleston, Trump may be shifting his stance on some tech issues given that he now controls a social media platform.
JD Vance, Trump’s decision for VP, additionally recently worked in funding and got key help from PayPal’s Peter Thiel during his 2022 senate crusade.
However, she cautioned that when it came time to govern, it would be difficult to distinguish between the interests of “big” tech and “little” tech.
According to David Broockman, a political science professor at the University of California, Berkeley, Trump is succeeding in the business world by presenting himself as more moderate on social issues like abortion than other members of his party.
Subsequent to bragging being “gladly the individual dependable” for eliminating Roe v Swim securities, Trump has dismissed claims he will back a public boycott moved by numerous traditionalists, and says the matter ought to be surrendered to the states.
However, Prof. Broockman pointed out that Trump also ran a relatively moderate campaign in 2016, but that once in office, he adopted more extreme policies.
Those hurt his public endorsement and in the end frayed conservative connections to Money Road, a customary wellspring of help for the party.
Prof. Broockman stated, “Tech and other business leaders are betting on a lot of Trump’s more eccentric policy ideas… just not happening.” However, they could actually occur.”
Beyond tech, Trump has upheld revolutionary changes including mass extraditions of undocumented foreigners, a sensational decrease in the public authority labor force and a 10% levy on all merchandise coming into the country.
However, Garrett Johnson, co-founder of the Foundation for American Innovation and currently an executive at a venture-backed technology company, stated that he believed that Trump’s views had gained more support among business and technology elites over time.
He stated, “Trump alone made the threat China poses to our country a national topic.” Everyone else had to go along because he was correct.”
He stated, “So absolutely I think that is part of the dynamic, of the vibe change.” Was he correct in every way? No, but Trump was correct on many important points.
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