A small but growing segment of Silicon Valley is rooting for Donald Trump, sources told The Post — and say the stigma that once supported him has faded.
“It’s very different from 2016 when you were ostracized … in 2016 you will have backlash from portfolio companies or founders (if you endorse Trump),” said one source who asked to speak on the condition of anonymity, but is now open to friends. and colleagues who support Trump. “The stigma will disappear.”
It’s a dramatic pivot from 2016 and 2020 when many kept quiet for fear of backlash from employees, colleagues and investors — and being blacklisted in the tech community, sources added.
Earlier this month, prominent tech venture capitalists David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya hosted a $12 million fundraiser for the former president in the traditionally ultra-progressive neighborhood of Pacific Heights. Last week, Trump joined the pair on the “All In” podcast, co-hosted by David Friedberg and Jason Calacanis last week.
In it, he highlighted how the policies will benefit Silicon Valley, including expanding access to visas for highly skilled workers, deregulating cryptocurrency and supporting energy independence, which Trump says will generate the electricity needed to innovate Artificial Intelligence.
And Trump could solidify much of that support with his vice presidential pick, sources told The Post.
Ohio Senator and former Bay Area venture capitalist JD Vance has been instrumental in brokering introductions between Trump and tech investors — he encouraged Sacks and Palihapitiya to host a fundraiser earlier this month and introduced Trump at the event, according to reports.
And sources in the pro-Trump technology faction revealed to The Post that they had told the campaign that Vance, 39, could invigorate the young techie demographic and become a direct pipeline from Silicon Valley to the White House if Trump is elected.
“Vance comes from the tech world so he has a lot of credibility,” one Republican bundler, who pushed Vance for VP, told The Post. “They’re focused on the kind of policies that resonate with the tech investor community that will drive innovation and entrepreneurship … they’re also in the younger generation.”
Trump said over the weekend that he has decided who will be his running mate but that person has not yet been announced. Vance, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said the frontrunners.
Vance, who famously wrote about Ohio’s working-class education in his 2016 memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” worked for PayPal founder and Republican mega-donor Peter Thiel’s company, Mithril Capital, before his election to the senate in 2022. Thiel also gave Vance $10 million. contribution to clinch a win in a competitive race.
“People in tech see Vance as one of them,” a source close to the conservative tech investor told The Post. “He knows business and technology … he is one of those who has been a senator.”
Tech sources told The Post that Vance’s support is just the latest in a growing dialogue between Trump and serious players in Silicon Valley.
Trump has secured endorsements from several venture capitalists who were previously out of politics, including Shaun Maguire, a partner at Sequoia Capital who accompanied Elon Musk to Israel, and his friend Doug Leone. Ryan Selkis, founder of cryptocurrency data company Messari, even posted on X encouraging founders to endorse Trump before the “floodgates” open.
And Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss announced a twin donation of millions of dollars in Bitcoin to Trump — a move that some sources say is representative of crypto’s rightward turn while Biden undermined the digital currency.
But after four years of Biden, “a lot of people have become very disillusioned” and want change, he said. Jacob Helberg, an advisor to the software company Palantir. “No one knows how aggressive Biden is going to be.”
These include the Taxes and Jobs Act of 2017 that will expire in 2025 if not renewed, the slow IPO market and the aggressive Securities and Exchange Commission that has gone after crypto. All this has led to the appearance of some technocrats who consider themselves “economic animals” outside the Democratic party.
“(People in tech) have always wanted lower taxes but now they’ve increased them,” the former Democratic bundler who now supports Trump told The Post. “Before they had a problem, they didn’t like Biden, but now it’s three or four things.”
While one former Democrat described his decision to support Trump as a “straightforward business issue,” others in Silicon Valley cited several social issues — including support for Israel, Biden’s lax immigration policy and Elon Musk’s criticism of the Democrats’ emphasis on DEI. – to make people think differently.
“It helps when the richest man in the world expresses his frustration with Joe Biden,” one Trump bundler told The Post.
“Everyone is waiting to see if Musk makes an endorsement,” the Democratic donor told The Post. “Trump has played it smart by giving him a role in the administration.”
While Musk has said he will not donate to either candidate and has yet to make an endorsement, he has met with Trump and plans to host a town hall with him at X. He also said he is “leaning” to vote for Biden.
“The more unfair the attacks on Trump appear to the public, the higher he will climb in the polls,” Musk tweeted last month.
The Biden administration has, at times, snubbed Musk by holding an event celebrating America’s electric vehicle production without including him — a fact the tech community is well aware of.
“Elon has done more for electric vehicles than anyone and Biden won’t invite him to a White House event … it’s petty and political,” said one venture capitalist who spoke on condition of anonymity. “And SpaceX has revitalized the space economy and (Musk) doesn’t get the credit.”
The venture capitalist added that Biden’s executive order on AI, which requires companies to share trade secrets with the government, has made him and some Silicon Valley colleagues reconsider their support for Biden.
“A lot of people look at Trump and they think he’s more supportive of his influence,” he said.
While Biden still hopes to win California in a landslide, his approval rating has dropped 20 points, from 62% in his first run to 42% today — an indication, sources say, that people may be open to alternatives.
Said Helberg: “Trump’s style is an acquired taste, but a growing faction of Silicon Valley has acquired that taste.”
