Trump Campaign Manager Calls for Investigation into Google After Breitbart Video: ‘Threat to Republic’

Brad Parscale, the 2020 campaign manager for President Trump, recently called for an investigation into tech giant Google following a leaked video of an all-hands internal meeting posted by Breitbart News.

Brad Parscale, President Trump’s 2016 digital campaign manager and 2020 re-election campaign manager, called for an investigation into tech giant Google in a recent tweet following a leaked video published by Breitbart News showing a high level of dismay from Google executives and employees at the election of President Trump along with a number of statements such as “history is on our side” and the “moral arc of history bends towards progress.”

In his tweet, Parscale states that Google believes that they can shape users’ values via search results and online manipulation. Parscale ends his tweet by calling for Congressional hearings and a full investigation into Google and their actions surrounding elections.

Parscale added in a second tweet that Mark Zuckerberg should send Google a gift, as only Google could make Facebook “look like the good guys.”

The leaked video was reported by Breitbart News Wednesday and can be watched in full here. Breitbart News’ Allum Bokhari discusses some of the content of the video in his article, writing:

It was reported earlier this week that Google tried to boost turnout among the Latino population to help Hillary Clinton, only to be dismayed as the usually solid Democratic voting bloc switched to the GOP in record numbers. This video shows a similar level of dismay among Google’s most high-profile figures.

These individuals, who preside over a company with unrivaled influence over the flow of information, can be seen disparaging the motivations of Trump voters and plotting ways to use their vast resources to thwart the Trump agenda.

Co-founder Sergey Brin can be heard comparing Trump supporters to fascists and extremists. Brin argues that like other extremists, Trump voters were motivated by “boredom,” which he says in the past led to fascism and communism.

The Google co-founder then asks his company to consider what it can do to ensure a “better quality of governance and decision-making.”

VP for Global Affairs Kent Walker argues that supporters of populist causes like the Trump campaign are motivated by “fear, xenophobia, hatred, and a desire for answers that may or may not be there.”

Later, Walker says that Google should fight to ensure the populist movement – not just in the U.S. but around the world – is merely a “blip” and a “hiccup” in a historical arc that “bends toward progress.”

In a recent op-ed published in USA Today, Parscale discussed how the Silicon Valley tech firms could pose a real threat to democracy and online freedom. In the article, Parscale notes that as social media has become more popular, tech firms have worked to control what is considered acceptable discussion and discourse online. Parscale states that this is a direct threat to a free society and that the worst offender is Google.

Parscale writes:

As the internet has become an increasingly central part of modern life, Big Tech giants such as Facebook, Twitter and Google have increasingly sought to become the gatekeepers of the internet and political discourse. Without any sort of democratic mandate, these companies have appointed themselves the arbiters of acceptable thought, discussion and searches online.

These companies’ pervasive command of the internet — and blatant desire to control how we interact with it — is a direct threat to a free society. And arguably the worst offender is Google.

Google claims to value free expression and a free and open internet, but there is overwhelming evidence that the Big Tech giant wants the internet to be free and open only to political and social ideas of which it approves.

It would appear that the leaked Google video has confirmed many of Parscale’s worries.

Google failed to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee this month, despite Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey appearing before Congress to discuss some of the issues their platform is facing and clarify how they aim to fix them.

In an article titled “Google’s Empty Chair Ratchets Up Pressure From Congress,” Bloomberg noted that Google’s refusal to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee could cause problems for the tech company in the future. While Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Twiter CEO Jack Dorsey appeared before the Committee yesterday to discuss the issues their platforms face in terms of election interference, Google’s absence from the hearing was notable and commented on during the event.

Adam Goldberg, a partner at the Washington, D.C.-based communications firm Trident DMG, commented on Google’s absence stating: “After investing so much in lobbying the last several years, this is bizarre. If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu, and Congress looks hungry.”

The ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), commented on Google’s absence at the time stating: “I’m deeply disappointed that Google – one of the most influential digital platforms in the world – chose not to send its own top corporate leadership to engage this committee,” he said. “Given its size and influence, I would have thought the leadership at Google would want to demonstrate how seriously it takes these challenges and to lead this important public discussion.”