Silicon Valley Republican figures are rallying behind Ohio Sen. JD Vance’s pick as former President Donald Trump’s running mate.
Top Silicon Valley leaders, including Elon Musk, came out in support of Vance as Trump’s vice presidential nominee in the hours after the official announcement was made on Monday. Musk himself He said that the Trump-Vance formula “It resonates with victory” and called it an “excellent decision” by Trump. David Sacks, a prominent Republican donor and venture capitalist, wrote in X“This is who I want next to Trump: an American patriot.”
Musk, Sacks and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson lobbied Trump over the weekend to pick Vance. According to an Axios report on Tuesday.
The tech industry’s enthusiasm for Vance comes as no surprise. Vance, a venture capitalist, has worked alongside top investors such as Peter Thiel and AOL founder Steve Case. When Vance ran for the U.S. Senate in 2022, Thiel donated $15 million to support his campaign. Sacks also donated $900,000 during the Senate election. According to Open Secrets.
Despite his history as an investor, Vance has also become a vocal critic of the tech industry during his two years in the Senate. He has called on Congress to roll back the liability protections Section 230 provides to social media companies. He has also supported efforts to break up big tech companies, accusing them of monopolistic behavior. FTC Chair Lina Khan has received a great deal of criticism from the tech industry for her efforts to rein in some of its biggest players and Vance has praised his work..
Vance’s past regulatory positions have apparently not diminished his support for the tech industry. “If Trump/Vance wins, it will be extraordinary for startups and capitalism in general,” Jason Calacinis, an investor and co-host of Sacks’ All In podcast, wrote in an email to WIRED on Monday. “Silicon Valley is largely libertarian, not left-wing… They view Biden as a ‘decelerator,’ so Trump/JD have won, game over.”
The election has not convinced all right-wing investors. On Monday, he Washington Post reported that Ken Griffin, manager of the Citadel hedge fund, opposed Vance.
Still, Vance’s supporters in Silicon Valley could offer huge amounts of money to support Trump’s reelection. On Monday, he New York Times reported that the pro-Trump America PAC, a new group backed by tech entrepreneurs like Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, could receive significant financial support from Elon Musk. Later, Wall Street Journal suggested that Musk would donate $45 million each month.
Many of the same tech entrepreneurs who announced their support for Trump in recent weeks are donors to America PAC, like Shaun Maguire.
“Billionaires and corporations are literally rooting for JD Vance — they know he and Trump will cut their taxes and drive up prices for everyone else,” Biden-Harris campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon said in a statement Monday.