Tech leaders line up behind Trump
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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
A significant chunk of the tech industry's money and power is lining up behind former President Trump.
Why it matters: Silicon Valley was once solidly Democratic, with just a handful of Republican outliers. Now its red camp is growing and throwing around its weight.
Driving the news: Venture capital billionaires Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz each will make donations to Trump's re-election effort, Axios has learned.
- "Techno-optimists" Andreessen and Horowitz are following hot on the heels of Elon Musk's announcement that he would endorse Trump and form a PAC to aid his campaign.
Between the lines: Neither Andreessen nor Horowitz is believed to have previously donated to a presidential campaign.
- Andreessen publicly supported Mitt Romney in 2012, but in 2016 said that he was struggling to decide between a candidate who "doesn't believe in science" (Trump) and one who "doesn't believe in economics" (Hillary Clinton).
- The Information reported earlier on their planned donations.
The intrigue: Andreessen Horowitz, the VC firm the pair co-founded in 2009, said late last year that its partners would begin making donations to political candidates they saw as "advancing technology."
- A source says that the Trump donations are in that vein — motivated by areas like crypto and AI regulation, without regard to other issues like abortion or the Supreme Court.
- In short, they believe Trump will be better for tech startups than will Biden, who they believe favors entrenched incumbents.
Yes, but: Andreessen sits on the board of Facebook, while Andreessen Horowitz has invested in Microsoft-affiliated OpenAI.
The big picture: Silicon Valley, which began with tons of Pentagon funding but lies near the heart of the ultra-liberal San Francisco Bay Area, has always been home to both Democrats and Republicans.
- The leaders of the industry's giants — from Microsoft and Apple to Google and Facebook — have sought to thrive under presidents from both parties, and rarely taken sides.
- Trump's first-term anti-immigration policies tested that resolve, with Google co-founder Sergey Brin joining a 2017 protest at San Francisco Airport. The tech workforce is full of skilled workers on visas who flock from around the globe to get a slice of tech wealth.
The bottom line: With Trump's fortunes at a high ebb, don't be surprised to see more tech execs join his corner.
Go deeper: Musk endorses Trump after shooting at rally
