Now that Donald Trump has been elected with a solid mandate, there is real fear about what he will do next. The president-elect has detailed plans that will cause great harm and suffering. He has expressed interest in mass deportations and in silencing his critics through state power. He intends to staff the federal government with loyalists. But perhaps one of the greatest dangers is the reward that he will give to his right-wing supporters in Silicon Valley.
Billionaires Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen and David Sacks are four of the most vocal Trump supporters in the tech world. All endorse and support what the president-elect is planning on doing as president, including deregulation and a rolling back of speech that makes the wealthy uncomfortable. The gamble that these men made on Trump has paid off.
For Musk, this likely means that he will have some measure of control and influence over the parts of the government that regulate his companies, which have billions and billions in government contracts. For Sacks and Andreessen, the aim is less about government contracts and more about cementing their control over an alternative media infrastructure that they believe will continue to shape American politics going forward and push it to the right.
One upshot of this election result is a further erosion of trust in traditional media. That’s something that these billionaires have long wanted. As tech newsrooms have become more antagonistic to the interests of the tech billionaires, their intention has been to destroy it and remake independent media in their image — a media that doesn’t challenge them with embarrassing and aggressive reporting. None have been quiet about their desire for overturning the press. In 2018, Andreessen led a funding round for Substack; an investment that not coincidentally came before a rightward tilt for the blogging platform.
With Trump’s election, these Silicon Valley billionaires move closer to the White House than ever before.
Sacks has attempted, on numerous occasions, to get into the media game. His podcasting app Callin was similar to Andreessen’s Clubhouse — although more of a failure. Today Sacks’s podcast All In, which he hosts with other venture capitalists in Silicon Valley, is a powerful driver of opinion and belief for the tech set. Thiel is less public about his efforts but still wants to be listened to and respected. After promising Atlantic writer Barton Gellman in late 2023 that he was swearing off politics for the 2024 contest, the billionaire put himself out there as Election Day came closer, doing podcasts and interviews and expounding on his Objectivist philosophy. And then there’s Musk, who famously bought Twitter, renaming it X, to promote far right politics on a platform once known for being a clearinghouse for media figures around the country and around the world.
There’s no reason to believe that after the massive success of Trump’s election and their closeness to the incoming president that these billionaires will take a step back. In fact, others who are less open about their right-wing politics, like Jeff Bezos — co-founder of Amazon and owner of The Washington Post — fell all over themselves to congratulate the president-elect and express their desire to work with him. Retaining the government contracts that have made them incredibly wealthy is likely a motivator.
“Big congratulations to our 45th and now 47th President on an extraordinary political comeback and decisive victory,” Bezos posted on X. “No nation has bigger opportunities.”
With Trump’s election, these Silicon Valley billionaires move closer to the White House than ever before. They do so fully aligned with the president-elect’s promise to use the power of the state to attack his (and their) critics. The task ahead is to build a better independent media than the one they want to give us.
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