Democratic Party Stronghold Silicon Valley, Changes Ahead of Presidential Election
Prominent figures in Silicon Valley, a Democratic stronghold in the United States, are showing political fractures and engaging in heated debates ahead of the presidential election.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 31st of last month (local time) that “conflicts among prominent Silicon Valley figures have surfaced recently as support for former President Trump has increased in traditionally Democratic-leaning Silicon Valley.” Since the Biden administration saw a rise in anti-market sentiment, there has been a trend of public opinion shifting toward the Republican Party, which promised deregulation, in Silicon Valley, known as a “big tech haven.”
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, who maintains a close relationship with Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, called Vinod Khosla, CEO of Khosla Ventures and a major player in the Silicon Valley venture capital (VC) industry, “crazy” on his X (formerly Twitter) account on the 25th of last month. This was because Khosla, a Democratic Party member, holds critical views of former President Trump.
David Sacks, former COO of PayPal, posted a photo on X of Robert Kennedy Jr., who gave up his presidential bid, shaking hands with former President Trump, calling them a “dream team.” In response, Aaron Levie, CEO of cloud computing company Box, replied to him, asking, “Are you high on cold medicine?”
Ben Horowitz, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, who was a Democratic supporter but decided to back former President Trump, publicly criticized Michael Moritz, chairman of Sequoia Capital, as being behind the scenes when a local San Francisco media outlet asked him about his change of political allegiance last month.
Some female workers in the Silicon Valley tech industry recently formed groups such as ‘VCs for Kamala,’ ‘Founders for Kamala,’ and ‘Tech4Kamala’ to strengthen support for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Voices calling for self-reflection amid the overheated political fractures in Silicon Valley ahead of the presidential election are also growing louder. Mark Pincus, founder of Zynga, pointed out on LinkedIn, “It seems that people around me currently believe only our side is right and consider themselves qualified to judge the opposing camp,” adding, “This situation has gone way too far.”
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