Silicon Valley Elites Move Right, Embrace Trump

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KQED

News Commentary, News, Politics

4.2 • 727 Ratings

🗓️ 23 July 2024

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The selection of former venture capitalist J.D. Vance as the Republican vice-presidential nominee is a sign that Silicon Valley is no longer the liberal stronghold it once was. A cadre of powerful venture capitalists and tech elites are pouring tens of millions of dollars to elect Donald Trump this November – a stance that would have been shocking back in 2016. Experts say tech executives want less regulation, lower taxes, and more government contracts. But with President Joe Biden out of the race, other Silicon Valley donors may turn up to support Vice President Kamala Harris in her bid to win the presidency. We’ll talk about the key players shifting Silicon Valley to the right, who they are supporting, and why. Guests: Max Chafkin, tech reporter, Bloomberg Businessweek; author, "The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley's Pursuit of Power" Makena Kelly, politics reporter, Wired Teddy Schleifer, reporter covering campaign finance and billionaires, New York Times Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:47.9	Last week with the Biden campaign under siege and Republicans celebrating in Milwaukee,
0:53.0	Donald Trump picked J.D. Vance as his running mate
0:56.0	after Vance's Silicon Valley friends encouraged the pick. It seemed perhaps that some
1:01.2	quarters of the Valley at least were beginning to embrace Donald Trump, perhaps becoming a huge
1:06.0	new source of campaign funding. But now Kamala Harris, a real Northern Californian, is in the race, and she
1:11.6	herself has deep relationships in tech, from former Google CEO Eric Schmidt to Lorraine Powell
1:16.7	Jobs. Is Silicon Valley really moving right? Should we really describe J.D. Vance as a former
1:21.6	venture capitalist? Will Elon Musk really put up $45 million a month to elect Donald Trump? We'll
1:26.7	talk about it all after this news.
	...

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