Our most recent book is titled Divided We Stand: The 2020 Elections and American Politics. Among other things, it discusses party organizations and campaign finance.
The former president traveled to San Francisco last night to court a small but vocal group of sympathetic tech entrepreneurs and venture capitalists who, following the likes of Elon Musk, are embracing Trump’s bombastic but business-friendly platforms in rebuke of President Joe Biden and Democrats’ policies.
It’s not surprising that business leaders would favor policies that benefit their bottom lines, but this new faction is brasher than the typical boardroom set. As self-styled iconoclasts, they loudly rebel against California’s liberal tradition. Backing Trump helps scratch that contrarian itch.
The $300,000-per-person fundraiser, hosted at billionaire venture capitalist David Sacks’ Pacific Heights mansion, included many of the Silicon Valley elite that have bristled at Biden’s approach to antitrust enforcement, artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency. The event raised $12 million, per California RNC National Committeewoman Harmeet Dhillon, who attended the fundraiser alongside what she said were many crypto leaders, including the Winklevoss twins.
Co-host Chamath Palihapitiya, an early Facebook executive turned tech investor who has long touted the digital currency sector, last week on his podcast spoke positively about the former president.
“President Trump in the last few weeks has become incredibly pro-crypto,” he said.
A key difference between this newer cohort and the ultra-wealthy Bay Area class that has traditionally tried to shape business regulation is their willingness to freelance on other issues. Sacks has continually criticized the U.S. spending on Ukraine, for example, accusing Biden of prolonging and escalating the conflict with Russia.
