Several business leaders in Silicon Valley have endorsed former President Donald Trump in recent weeks, marking a break from the broader progressive ethos of the technology industry.
Multiple executives, from technology entrepreneur Elon Musk and internet investor David Sacks to venture capitalist Peter Thiel and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, have publicly voiced their support for the Trump campaign. Musk vowed to contribute a total of $180 million to America PAC, a new entity supportive of Trump, in the days after the unsuccessful assassination attempt against the Republican nominee. Other entrepreneurs such as Joe Lonsdale, Tyler Winklevoss, and Cameron Winklevoss likewise promised to make contributions toward America PAC.
Sacks said he endorses Trump because of robust economic performance under his first term, an increased possibility of peace between Russia and Ukraine, the need to secure the border, and an avoidance of more political prosecutions. “The voters have experienced four years of President Trump and four years of President Biden,” he wrote. “Trump performed better.”
The endorsements have not come without backlash from progressives: investor Mark Cuban rebuked the executives for supporting Trump, reacting negatively to a list of such executives shared on social media by claiming they were exercising the “virtue of selfishness.”
The list of Silicon Valley executives supportive of Trump also mentions software investor Marc Andreessen, virtual reality designer Palmer Luckey, and venture capitalist Shaun Maguire.
The endorsements occur as some Silicon Valley stalwarts express hesitance toward the Democrats while Trump turns to the industry for campaign donations. Democrats usually enjoy an overwhelming fundraising advantage over Republicans in the technology sector.
Conservatives in the technology sector have noticed the shifting allegiances: Santiago Pliego, the venture director at New Founding, characterizes the ideological pivots in the industry as a “vibe shift” marked by hesitance toward diversity, equity, and inclusion, globalism and antinatalism, and other facets of progressive ideology.
