Silicon Valley has formally gone MAGA. For proof, you want look no additional than the truth that the co-founders of one of many tech trade’s most influential enterprise capital companies, Andreessen Horowitz, have quietly introduced they are going to be sending massive gobs of money to the Trump staff.
Marc Andreessen, and his long-time enterprise accomplice, Ben Horowitz, are each planning on contributing an unknown sum of money to the Trump marketing campaign, sources conscious of the scenario told The Information (Axios later confirmed). It’s apparently the primary time both of them could have contributed to a presidential candidate’s marketing campaign. The duo are simply two of a rising variety of Silicon Valley tech executives who’ve not too long ago voiced help for Trump, a stunning twist for individuals who might have seen the tech trade as a predominantly liberal city.
Nonetheless, it could seem that the first motivating issue right here is economics, not ideology. A supply told Axios that Andreessen and Horowitz are on the lookout for the chief that they assume will probably be most amenable to their enterprise pursuits and that the donations are thus “motivated by areas like crypto and AI regulation, with out regard to different points like abortion or the Supreme Courtroom.”
It might initially be tough to know why anybody would assume Trump is a perfect candidate on this regard. In spite of everything, the billionaire as soon as said he was “not a fan” of cryptocurrencies and has, for essentially the most half, appeared to have little curiosity in synthetic intelligence besides to sometimes declare that his marketing campaign gaffes were the result of it. In current months, nonetheless, Trump’s marketing campaign has shifted notably on tech points, additional aligning itself with Silicon Valley’s core pursuits.
Certainly, Trump not too long ago advised that he would throw out the comparatively tame AI government order that Biden issued final yr, and has plans to unleash the floodgates when it comes to AI development, successfully liberating tech bigwigs like Andreessen to pursue their moronic aim of “techno-optimism.” Trump, whose marketing campaign not too long ago reaped a small haul in Dogecoin donations, has additionally come round on crypto and is scheduled to give a speech at a Bitcoin convention in Nashville later this month. May the inflow of money from the tech trade’s coffers and this sudden ideological pivot have something to do with each other? I’ll go away that as much as you to determine, pricey reader.
Marc Andreessen’s help for Trump, in the meantime, appears fairly easy. Certainly, the 2 males match collectively nicely. Along with the daft, greed-addled manifesto about capitalism and know-how that he printed final yr, Andreessen’s current focus has been on propping up nationalistic, pro-America defense startups. All of that appears fairly at dwelling with the MAGA worldview which, basically, is pro-defense, pro-deregulation, and, after all, pro-rich folks (simply take a look at those Trump tax breaks). Andreessen and his crowd need somebody who’s going to be fully hands-off on the subject of their trade’s extra ludicrous ambitions and, at present, Trump appears to suit the invoice.
Even much less stunning is the truth that Elon Musk, Silicon Valley’s most outstanding edgelord billionaire, now seems to be committing an absurd sum of money to a PAC designed to get Trump elected. On Tuesday, the Wall Avenue Journal reported that Musk would start doling out “$45 million a month” to America PAC, a political motion committee that, because the New York Occasions has reported, was based by a few of Musk’s “closest pals.” The newspaper cited “folks conversant in the matter,” as proof.
On Tuesday, Musk appeared to disavow the report, tweeting out a meme in response to the story that mentioned: “FAKE GNUS.” Nonetheless, when a commenter on the submit mentioned that Musk had gone from “being an Obama voter to pledging $180 million to elect DJT” Musk responded: “Yeah.” The obvious red-pilling of Elon has been a protracted, loud course of, replete with many, many crimson flags. One of the vital outstanding of mentioned flags was Musk’s 2022 choice to purchase Twitter, rename it X, and successfully convert it right into a scaled model of 4chan. Ever since then, Musk has used the platform to promulgate a flood of rightwing conspiracy theories, anti-woke diatribes, and dopey, pro-capitalist musings—an ideological pressure that, for essentially the most half, is extremely suitable with the Trump base. Not solely has Musk long been chummy with Trump, however he additionally clearly despises Biden and, on Saturday, following the try on Trump’s life, Musk formally endorsed Trump for President.
The identical PAC that was based by Musk’s pals (and which is reportedly getting funding from Musk) can be backed by a lot of outstanding tech trade tycoons, together with the co-founder of creepy defense contractor Palantir Joe Lonsdale and the 2 Fb-wannabe dolts, the Winklevoss twins, the Journal writes. Briefly: outstanding members of Silicon Valley’s energy elite have officially joined the ranks of the MAGA faithful. Along with the financial pursuits at stake, varied social panics throughout the rarefied confines of the Bay Space may be at fault. Given the outrage in San Francisco over homeless folks, “wokeness” and Biden’s “unfriendly” strategy to enterprise pursuits, I wouldn’t be stunned if that is only the start.
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