Last week Peter Thiel took the stage at the Republican National Convention in a show of support for Presidential candidate Donald Trump, a move that shocked and disturbed many of his Silicon Valley compatriots. An openly gay, self described libertarian, the PayPal
In stark contrast with Peter's vocal support of Trump, and perhaps more indicative of the overriding political climate, over 140 of Silicon Valley's entrepreneurs and executives have signed an open letter condemning Donald Trump as a potential "disaster for innovation," praising government involvement in the economy, and claiming "diversity is our strength." Much of the backlash against Trump in Silicon Valley is due to his unhinged brand of commentary, considered by many to be xenophobic and racist, about immigrants, Muslims, and Mexicans. Additionally, executives in Silicon Valley have expressed worry that Thiel support will become "another plot point in the larger story line that Silicon Valley is exclusionary and narrow-minded and that its innovations are advancing global inequality," according to Farhad Manjoo in the New York Times. Currently, the letter's signatures includes several high-profile names in tech like Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple
Despite a seemingly united front against Trump, Thiel is not the first to deviate from the the Silicon Valley party line by supporting the Republican Party; and several prominent tech leaders have been prominently connected with conservative political activity. Marc Anderseen, the well known venture capitalist and cofounder of NetScape, shocked many by supporting Mitt Romney in 2012 after a lifetime of backing Democrats for the self professed reason "I turned 40 last year and so I figured it was time to make the switch." Additionally, Meg Whitman, CEO of Hewlett Packard
Even considering the few prominent GOP backers among the leaders of the tech industry, few have matched Thiel's vocal support for the controversial Trump, and those who do plan on voting for the Republican nominee seem to keep their affiliation as far out of sight as possible. And, while most Internet start-up executives oppose Trump and denounced Peter Thiel's participation in the Republican National convention, a small minority of the tech community seems to think that only a wild card candidate such as Trump would be disruptive enough to overhaul Washington's unimaginative two-party system. Nevertheless, most in the tech industry overwhelmingly support Democrats and oppose Thiel as he takes on the role of Trump's ambassador to Silicon Valley.
