Billionaire Peter Thiel supports Trump for president: ‘Gun to my head’ – Washington Examiner
Billionaire Silicon Valley investor Peter Thiel announced he will vote for Donald Trump in November, despite their complicated history. Speaking at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Thiel expressed his reluctant support. Though an enthusiastic backer in 2016, his relationship with Trump had cooled after he reportedly refused a request by Trump to endorse him again. Thiel emphasized he would vote for Trump if forced but stated he would not contribute financially this time around.
Billionaire Silicon Valley investor Peter Thiel revealed he will be voting for former president Donald Trump in November, despite the pair’s up-and-down relationship.
Thiel signaled his reluctant support at the Aspen Ideas Festival on Thursday. The Paypal CEO was an avid Trump advocate in 2016, but their relationship soured after he reportedly declined to endorse Trump, despite being asked by the 45th president to do so.
“If you hold a gun to my head, I’ll vote for Trump,” Thiel said in an on-stage interview. “I’m not going to give any money to his super PAC.”
The business mogul has been a major financier for Trump and Republican candidates in the past. He donated $1.25 million to Trump’s 2016 campaign, and contributed over $35 million to 16 federal-level GOP candidates in 2022. Twelve of those 16 candidates won their election.
In 2023, Thiel said he would not fund any presidential races this November but did not express support for any candidate in an interview with the Atlantic in which he criticized Trump.
“There are a lot of things I got wrong,” he told the outlet. “It was crazier than I thought. It was more dangerous than I thought. They couldn’t get the most basic pieces of the government to work. So that was — I think that part was maybe worse than even my low expectations.”
Thiel has reportedly been unhappy with the direction of the Republican Party since late 2022, and is particularly critical of the GOP for focusing too much on abortion and transgender issues instead of spurring innovation through deregulation and international competition.
He spoke on his hope for the party to focus more on economic issues at the 2016 Republican National Convention.
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“I am proud to be gay, but most of all, I am proud to be an American,” he said onstage. “I don’t pretend to agree with every plank in our party’s platform, but fake culture wars only distract us from our economic decline, and nobody in this race is being honest about it except Donald Trump.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to Thiel for comment.
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