The Biden Administration is pushing back against a liberal megadonor who told a podcast audience that “nobody cares” about China’s genocide perpetrated against the Uyghur people.
During a Saturday episode of his podcast All-In, Chamath Palihapitiya, a billionaire liberal megadonor and Co-Owner of the Golden State Warriors told his audience that “nobody cares about what’s happening to the Uyghurs” and the United States was “not in a position” to lecture China on human rights.
“Nobody cares about what’s happening to the Uyghurs. You bring it up because you really care, and I think that’s nice that you care, the rest of us don’t care,” Palihapitiya said. “I’m telling you a very hard, ugly truth, okay? Of all the things that I care about, yes, it is below my line.”
Palihapitiya continued, “I care about the fact that our economy can turn on a dime if China invades Taiwan. I care about climate change. I care about America’s crippling and decrepit health care infrastructure. But if you ask me, do I care about a segment of a class of people in another country? Not until we can take care of ourselves will I prioritize them over us.
“And I think a lot of people believe that, and I’m sorry if that’s a hard truth to hear, but every time I say that I ‘care about the Uyghurs’, I’m really just lying if I don’t really care and so I rather not lie to you and tell you the truth. It’s not a priority for me,” Palihapitiya concluded.
According to the Washington Free Beacon, Palihapitiya “has deep ties to the Biden administration. Both Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Agency for International Development administrator Samantha Power served as advisers to Palihapitiya’s venture capital firm, Social Capital, before they joined the Biden administration. Palihapitiya in 2020 gave $250,000 to the Biden Victory Fund.”
In a statement to the Free Beacon, a Biden spokeswoman said that the administration rejected Palihapitiya’s remarks.
“The Biden Administration rejects this statement and will continue to hold the PRC accountable,” the spokeswoman said. Citing the Biden administration’s support for the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act, the spokeswoman reiterated Biden’s commitment to “ensure all global supply chains are free from the use of forced labor.”
The Golden State Warriors also sought to put space between them and Palihapitiya.
“Mr. Palihapitiya does not speak on behalf of our franchise, and his views certainly don’t reflect those of our organization,” the team said in a statement.
“In addition to his six-figure Biden campaign contribution, Palihapitiya during the 2020 election cycle gave $750,000 to Schumer’s Senate Majority PAC,” the Free Beacon reported. “The liberal billionaire has also contributed tens of thousands of dollars to the Democratic National Committee and failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.”
Palihapitiya even questioned the idea that China was a true dictatorship. After one of his co-hosts referred to China as a “brutal dictatorship,” the Warriors co-owner pushed back.
“I’m not even sure that China is a dictatorship the way that you want to call it that,” Palihapitiya said.
“This issue may be small data points being extrapolated in a way to create a narrative that may not be true,” he continued.
The entire episode can be seen here:
Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter @themightygwinn
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