A growing number of Silicon Valley tech leaders are flocking to support former President Donald Trump's re-election campaign, offering donations and endorsements that were scarce in 2016.
Some of the most notable Trump backers this go-around include Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Palantir Technologies co-founder Joe Lonsdale, venture capitalist David Sacks, Andreessen Horowitz founders Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen and cryptocurrency exchange Gemini co-founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss.
"Musk was not the first, but certainly the biggest, to come out," Sarah Bryner, research director at OpenSecrets, told FOX Business. "And I think that once somebody kind of lays claim to that opinion, other people follow. Especially since Trump is doing well in the polls, he's doing well with fundraising right now. People want to back a winner."
A new super PAC supporting Trump – America Pac – has raised about $8.75 million since it launched in June, according to federal election filings. That includes several $1 million donations from tech leaders who have endorsed the GOP candidate in recent weeks.
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Silicon Valley has long been considered a liberal stronghold, and the stream of tech and business leaders coming out in support of Trump raises questions about whether an ideological shift is underway in the nation's tech hub.
Yet Bryner said the support among billionaires and CEOs for Trump may not be evidence of a political realignment within the tech sector.
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"There's a big difference between what a few hedge fund and tech leaders do, versus what the rank and file do," she said. "The rank-and-file Silicon Valley employees are still far and away leaning blue. And so I think, to say that the tech industry writ large is moving to the right, it's too early to say that."
There may be another explanation why tech leaders are pivoting to Trump ahead of the November election: support for the former president's pro-business stance.
During his first term in the White House, Trump oversaw the passage of a sweeping tax law that included steep rate cuts for corporations. He has said he wants to cut the corporate tax rate further, to 15%, if he is re-elected in November.
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"Silicon Valley tech leaders backing Trump could easily be brushed off with ‘He’s not so bad,' or ‘He’s better than the alternative,'" Tony Fiorillo, president of Indiana-based Asset Management Strategies, told FOX Business. "However, I think a deeper understanding of why could be financial. Subconsciously, they see a better path for business under Trump."
In a podcast released last week, Horowitz and Andreessen said their support for a second Trump term boils down to his policies on cryptocurrency, taxes and other tech-related areas.
Andreessen – who endorsed Barack Obama in 2008, and supported Hillary Clinton in 2016 – said the "final straw" that prompted him to back Trump was President Biden's plan to tax the unrealized gains of those earning more than $1 million as regular income.
"This makes startups completely implausible, because why on Earth is anybody going to go do this instead of going to work for Google and getting paid a lot of money every year in cash?" Andreessen said.
Biden has since dropped out of the 2024 presidential race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to become the Democratic nominee. Harris has also floated taxing capital gains as regular income.
In a statement, a Republican spokesperson credited the growing support among tech leaders for Trump to the former president's economic and business stances.
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"Business leaders and entrepreneurs are flocking to support President Trump because they know his policies delivered a strong economy, protected American jobs and promoted growth and innovation," Anna Kelly, an RNC spokesperson, said in a statement to FOX Business. "It’s no surprise there’s been a Silicon shift to retire Joe Biden’s failed policies."
