Silicon Valley often leans left politically. So Donald Trump gets little love there. There was the iPhone San Bernadino controversy. Trump sided with the Feds. He said scathing things about Apple. That got him even less love. There’s a circulated letter about Trump today. It’s by no means an endorsement.
This letter is composed and signed by 140 tech leaders and entrepreneurs. The letter says a Trump presidency will be a disaster for tech innovation. This letter criticized Trump’s positions on immigration. ?They highlighted Trump’s desire to build a border wall. They criticized him on Internet freedoms. Trump proposes possible Internet shutdowns for security reasons. They criticized him on technology infrastructure. They say his policies are too few and far between. The signers insisted they weren’t speaking out for their respective companies. They only spoke for themselves. This statement says it all. And it’s in the letter: “We believe in an inclusive country that fosters opportunity, creativity, and a level playing field. Donald Trump does not.” Ouch! Did it get cold in here? Signers included Tumblr CEO David Karp, Twitter Product VP Josh McFarland, Ebay Founder?Pierre Omidyar,?Zynga Founder Mark Pincus, Yelp CEO?Jeremy Stoppelman, and Apple Co-founder Steve?Wozniak.
With that being said, Donald Trump has some Silicon Valley allies. Remember Peter Thiel? He’s the PayPal co-founder who stood up for Hulk Hogan. He openly supports Trump. Rumor has it Thiel will speak at next week’s convention. I’m sure there are other tech Trump supporters. They’re just being silent right now. In previous presidential elections, tech leaders quietly donated funds to various candidates, parties, and conventions. But never have this many tech leaders came out swinging against a certain presidential candidate. Like I said before, this has to be the most contentious election in my lifetime. Nobody is neutral. Not even Silicon Valley. Why aren’t more Trump tech supporters speaking out? Are they afraid of getting ostracized by the anti-Trump crowd?
*Disclaimer: I am not here to endorse or openly support any presidential candidate. I simply observe, report and critique tech trends to the best of my ability.