A group of Silicon Valley power brokers, led by Elon Musk, are using their wealth and influence to help put Donald Trump back in the White House in 2024.
The New York Times reports that a new guard of Republican donors has emerged from the tech industry, aiming to leverage their fortunes and media platforms to secure another term for former President Donald Trump. This group, which includes Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and David Sacks, among others, represents an ascendant class of GOP benefactors who operate differently from traditional funders.
With seemingly limitless financial resources and their own media profiles, these tech moguls are making a public show of support for Trump, sometimes even announcing donations on social media. Driven by self-interest and a reactionary worldview, they are pouring money into the Trump campaign and allied super PACs.
Musk, who was initially reluctant to publicly endorse Trump, has taken on an especially active role. He is secretly building his own super PAC, America PAC, through which he plans to provide at least $140 million to fund a nationwide canvassing operation aimed at turning out up to 1 million Trump voters in key swing states.
Other members of this new donor class include Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, venture capitalists who were previously Democrats but have soured on the party over antitrust enforcement and proposed taxes on the wealthy. Crypto entrepreneurs like the Winklevoss twins have also joined the Trump train as the industry faces increasing regulatory scrutiny. Peter Thiel and his network of protégés and associates, like Blake Masters, remain some of Trump’s strongest backers in Silicon Valley.
These new donors are different from the traditional donor class who historically bankrolled the GOP. Figures like Musk and Thiel see themselves as visionary founders on a mission to reshape the world. With their companies transcending borders, they view themselves as bigger than any political party. Supporting Trump is a means to an end – creating an environment where they can pursue their dreams of space travel, brain-computer interfaces, and unregulated digital currencies with minimal government interference.
Read more at the New York Times here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.