Silicon Valley tech leaders shift support to Trump after assassination attempt. Explore tweets, economic motivations, and the changing political landscape in the tech industry.
This past weekend, almost all social media headlines and comment sections in the United States were dominated by news of Trump’s assassination attempt.
>>> Read more: Bitcoin Surpasses $60K Following Trump Assassination AttemptOn July 13, former U.S. President Donald Trump was shot at by a gunman when attending a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. His right ear was hit by a bullet, after which he left the scene under the protection of Secret Service agents.
Trump later issued a statement describing his injuries, saying, “I felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place.” He thanked law enforcement for their quick response, expressed condolences to the families of the victims and injured spectators, and stated that he would proceed with his planned schedule.
MUSK, ALTMAN, NADELLA TWEETS
X became the main platform for discussion. Many Silicon Valley founders, investors, and CEOs also expressed their views.
Elon Musk immediately made clear his support for Trump. He stated that he would fully endorse “President Trump” and wished him a speedy recovery.
Musk even compared Trump’s resilience to that of Roosevelt, one of the greatest former presidents known as the “The Shaper of Modern America.”
SILICON VALLEY’S ENDORSEMENT
A popular comment under Altman’s tweet pointedly remarked:
Some have described it:
Not long ago, Silicon Valley, a “liberal stronghold,” was firmly in the first echelon of opposition to Trump. As a representative of innovation, openness, and globalization, Silicon Valley strongly relied on international talent and a free business environment, advocating for environmental protection and social progress.
Trump, on the other hand, was synonymous with conservatism and protectionism.
He implemented strict immigration policies, tightened H-1B visa restrictions, which many company leaders criticized for hindering innovation and talent recruitment; launched antitrust investigations against tech giants, strengthened regulation of social media platforms, which was seen as excessive interference with free expression, contradicting Silicon Valley’s advocated open and free internet spirit; the trade war he initiated against countries like China posed challenges to tech companies relying on global supply chains and markets, raising widespread concerns; while Silicon Valley companies generally valued sustainable development, pledging to reduce carbon emissions and invest in clean energy projects, the Trump administration implemented an “anti-environment” policy, which aroused strong dissatisfaction in the tech community.
It can be said that the differences and disagreements between the two sides in values and policies have been long-standing, even reaching a point of sharp confrontation at one time.
Platforms like X and Facebook had banned Trump’s social media accounts, directly silencing him. Even Musk resigned from three presidential advisory committees in 2017 when Trump announced the withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, and in 2020 he voted for Biden.
Trump, in turn, called Musk “a bullshit artist.” During the last election campaign, Trump frequently attacked Bezos, accusing him of using The Washington Post to avoid taxes, and having “huge antitrust problems.” Bezos hit back, saying he “will still reserve him a seat on the Blue Origin rocket.”
What Changed?
Someone commented on X that Silicon Valley’s stance had already changed, and this shooting incident presented the most reasonable opportunity to speak out.
As a result, the few who are still “holding the line” now find themselves in a difficult situation.
As a long-time public opponent of Trump, LinkedIn co-founder and Silicon Valley “King of Connections” Reid Hoffman has condemned his leadership style as harmful to America’s rule of law and business environment on multiple occasions, finding his incitement to violence unacceptable.
As a result, a recent public debate between him and Stanford alumnus, PayPal founder, and well-known investor Peter Thiel was posted by Musk. In the verbal exchange, Thiel sarcastically thanked Hoffman for funding lawsuits against Trump, believing these lawsuits turned Trump into a “martyr,” thereby increasing his chances of re-election. Hoffman responded sarcastically: “Yeah, I wish I had made him an actual martyr.”
Economic Policies and Tax Reforms
From initial strong opposition to recent gradual support, the balance tilting towards Trump is actually driven by dissatisfaction with current U.S. economic policies, regulatory environment, and the Biden administration.
Biden administration: For example, in terms of industry regulation, the Biden administration’s antitrust investigations into tech giants like Nvidia, Microsoft, and OpenAI, and high-pressure regulation in emerging technology fields like cryptocurrencies and AI, have made many Silicon Valley figures worry that it will seriously limit technological innovation and industry development.
Trump administration: On the other hand, had pushed for deregulation measures in multiple industries to reduce corporate compliance burdens and operating costs. For instance, in 2018, it proposed reducing federal government regulation and legal barriers to self-driving cars, encouraging state governments and private enterprises to provide greater flexibility for technology research and development and testing, since then Waymo and Tesla’s businesses have developed significantly; it directed the FAA to simplify commercial licensing procedures for drones, promoting the expansion of Amazon and UPS’s drone delivery services.
In terms of economic policies and tax reforms, in 2017, Trump passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, slashing the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%. He also lowered personal income tax rates for high-income groups while increasing the standard deduction. He also introduced a minimum tax rate on foreign income, aimed at encouraging U.S. companies to repatriate overseas profits. This was particularly beneficial to Silicon Valley tech companies and the group of “rich people” behind them. In fact, Trump has also hinted that as long as he’s in power, he would serve the immediate economic interests of the top 1%, or even 0.001% of the wealthy, which is exactly the group that Silicon Valley tycoons and financial backers belong to.
In comparison: Biden proposed raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% to increase federal revenue. He increased taxes on individuals with annual incomes over $400,000, eliminating some tax reduction benefits for high-income earners. For those with annual incomes over $1 million, the tax rate could reach as high as 39.6%. The money was to be used for large-scale infrastructure construction and social welfare security, but it resulted in no achievements and even led to “zero-dollar purchases.” This caused Silicon Valley’s middle class and wealthy to become precise targets of criticism, with complaints and unbearable suffering.
>>> Read more:
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