Remember the full-throated endorsement of Donald Trump that Silicon Valley mogul Peter Thiel gave at the Republican convention? Thiel got a prime-time spot to echo the convention theme that America was going down the drain, adding “fake culture wars only distract us from our economic decline, and nobody in this race is being honest about it except Donald Trump.”
Related: Peter Thiel’s Data-Mining Start-Up: No Asians!
At first glance, Thiel’s support for Trump was a bit of a mystery, since the Facebook billionaire used to be more of a libertarian than a Trumpist. Of course, he might have liked Trump’s willingness to weaken the First Amendment by loosening libel laws, which could have saved him some lawyer fees when he destroyed Gawker. Or maybe it was the idea that Trump could appoint him to the Supreme Court.
But right now, instead of telling the world how great Donald is, all the world is hearing from Thiel is crickets.
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Both Gizmodo and The Hill have been badgering Thiel’s PR people for an answer to the question of whether Thiel still backs the nominee in light of his boasting about sexual assault. They haven’t gotten a single response to their inquiries.
Related: The Seven All-Time Strangest Remarks From Facebook Billionaire Peter Thiel
Instead, Thiel is using the language he’s most fluent in to express his support: money. A source close to Thiel said that he will donate a total of $1.25 million to Trump’s campaign and a pro-Trump Super PAC. That puts Thiel among Trump’s biggest donors, who are increasingly few and far between in any event.
The donation is a clear signal that Thiel has no intention of abandoning Trump despite the candidate’s erratic public behavior, unending stream of lies and falsehoods, and boasts of sexual assault. If anything, Thiel is doubling down on Trump.
Some of Thiel’s motivation might be sheer perversity. The billionaire has earned a reputation as an unparalleled troll. After all, this is the gay man who helped launch the career of Ted Cruz.
But it also could be that Donald Trump is the culmination of all of Thiel’s crazy ideas: curing death, seasteading, the worthlessness of a college degree.
Unfortunately, many of those crazy ideas have a very dark side to them. Chief among them is Thiel’s statement that “I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible.” He’s expressed this idea more specifically about women’s suffrage and acted upon it quite forcefully when it comes to freedom of the press.
Of course, it just so happens that those are two big themes among Trump’s supporters these days. After Nate Silver tweeted a map of Trump being buried in a landslide if only women voted, Trump supporters started tweeting #Repealthe19th, the amendment that granted women the right to vote. As for the press, with their display of unbridled hatred for the media, Trump rallies are often a frightening experience, even for reporters used to being reviled.
Perhaps the scariest thought of all is that Thiel is backing Trump because he sees Trump as a chance to break our nation’s attachment to democracy. (Jeff Bercovici of Inc. eloquently outlined this idea last July.) In essence, we all think within the box when we think about how to repair the damage that Trump is causing our institutions. But Thiel thinks outside the box.
Thiel has already opined that his idea of freedom and our current system cannot co-exist. For Thiel, maybe Trump’s willingness to destroy political norms and ruin institutions isn’t a bug. It’s a feature.
That might be the most frightening idea of all.
DistingueTraces
Imagine having $1.2 million to throw away in an empty gesture on behalf of a defeated candidate!
Crazy to think that it’s easier for him to spend the money than to release a brief statement.
Not a worldview that most of us will ever share, that’s for certain.
ingyaom
Good money after bad. What a waste.
charlie_jackpot
Someone needs to get to rehab sharpish
robho3
Swell who else do you expect a bat shit crazy person to support?
trusgold
PETER HE IS ANTI-GAY, PENCE IS RABID ANTI GAY. WHILE YOU ARE INSULATED I AM NOT….THANKS
tjr101
Just imagine how much good 1.2 million can do in our society. Of course people are free to do whatever they choose with their earnings, but what a colossal waste. Trump is not even going to win.
A fool and his money.
Swineshead
This is starting to get noticed: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/oct/17/project-include-y-combinator-donald-trump-peter-thiel
joeyty
Good for him, but I think it’s a wasted effort. We’re probably going to be stuck with the Arkansas homophobes as President(s) for a while.
RamblingManNJ
The Trump supporters that are ignorant and forgive me for this non PC statement, sort of white trash like are not the ones I get most mad at. It is the Trump supporters who are intelligent and should know better that really should be ashamed of themselves.
DCguy
@joeyty:
It’seems funny when the anti-lgbt self hating Log Cabiners pretend to oppose homophobia when the entire reason for their existence at this point is to advocate to advance homophobia by supporting candidates that hate lgbt people.
Nice try sock puppet.
rand503
Theil and Trump are cut of the same cloth. Hubris and grandiosity.
Look, when I was a child, I thought that if I were king of the world, I could get so much accomplished. Without opposition, I could cure poverty, end racism, promote the arts, and basically be the best damn ruler the world ever saw. I would use common sense and a good heart, and I could save the environment and protect consumers, special interests be damned!
Then I grew up. And I realized I don’t have all the easy answers, and that for every action there is a reaction, and sometimes the reactions are more important or better than ny actions. and you can’t just dictate, you have to persuade to get people to buy in to your ideas.
Theil and Trump don’t have that maturity. They just want to be emperor with no limitations and will tell US what is best for us. They can do what ever they like because they are rich and powerful, so they don’t really care if they trample on my freedoms. They just want their own way, and if enriches them, well, so what?
These are dangerous children playing with our lives an our constitution. Dictators never end well.
joeyty
@DCguy: But you’re a self-hating Jew who wants MORE Muslim-inspired Pulse massacres in the U.S., just like the Clintons do. Nice try, dirty sock puppet.
joeyty
@RamblingManNJ: No, I think you should be ashamed of yourself. I guess you don’t want a NYC man running your ‘Murica, hick.
orcanyc
Its just so, so sad. Mr. Thiel should be ashamed of himself!!
rbernard
I think Peter Thiel competitive edge is being a contrarian, a troll. Somewhere along the way, he gave up his humanity in a quest to be part of the 1%.
scotshot
@joeyty:
You’re a Trump Troll
You’re a Thiel Troll
You’re anti-semitic
You’re a Trump, Thiel anti semitic Troll
You’re just a piece of sh*t excuse for a human
Go throw your feces elsewhere
joeyty
@scotshot: No…I threw it at you. And hit you directly, troll.
SteveDenver
Judging from his actions, Thiel is petty and selfish.
SteveDenver
@DCguy: AGREED!
Gay Republicans should be disallowed from taking advantage of social advances until they pull their party platform to that point. It’s astonishing how happy they are to marry, adopt, enjoy security with progressive-minded employers, etc.; but their own party rejects them.
joeyty
@SteveDenver: Gay Democrats should be held directly responsible for any of Hillary’s Muslim refugees committing more homophobic massacres.