A “luncheon conversation” at the home of Amy Rao – CEO of the data firm Integrated Archive Systems and a longtime Clinton supporter who has given more than $550,000 to Democratic presidential and congressional candidates and party committees since 2002, according to the Center for Responsive Politics – will run donors between $2,700 and $27,000 for tickets. It’s a bit of a surprising revelation given Thiel’s outspoken support for the candidate so far, and given that he previously gave $2 million to a super PAC supporting Carly Fiorina, but maybe not so surprising given the overall chilly reception Trump’s been getting from Silicon Valley overall – including the announcement earlier this month that onetime Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman has chose to support Hillary.
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Silicon Valley is, in theory, all about innovation and social change, but despises regulation, meaning the its most powerful leaders’ political leanings vary quite a bit. Before dropping out of the Republican primaries, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul and Jeb Rush received millions from the tech sector.
It seems to be part of a larger trend across several industries, according to the Journal, including tech and finance, with Wall Street donors unhappy with Republicans embracing a law that would break up big banks.
President Obama received 8 of every 10 dollars spent by employees of major tech companies in the 2012 presidential election, but Trump is faring even worse than 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney.
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Even Peter Thiel, who spoke at the 2016 Republican National Convention for the billionaire businessman, has no plans to donate or fundraise for Trump, his spokesman told The Wall Street Journal. He’s also attacked Apple and other tech giants. One reason is because he hasn’t reached out to anyone to discuss policy, nor has he developed a tech platform. His campaign has done little to court Silicon Valley and was strongly critical of Apple for not complying with the Federal Bureau of Investigation after the San Bernardino shooting. In 2013, he said he “very rarely” used email, a technology that he once declared “is for wimps”.
