Jay Patel
As the 2024 presidential election approaches, Michael Moritz, a renowned venture capitalist and former Sequoia Capital partner, has made his stance clear through a recent Financial Times opinion piece. Moritz critiques tech investors who support Donald Trump, describing their backing as a grave mistake.
He questions why successful individuals in Silicon Valley seem willing to overlook Trump’s past criminal convictions, suggesting that if these investors were assembling an investment syndicate, they would likely avoid including Trump.
Moritz’s critique highlights Trump’s recent conviction on 34 felony counts in New York, which Trump and his allies have downplayed as politically motivated. Despite Trump’s appeal of the conviction, Moritz argues that dismissing these legal issues as a “witch-hunt” reflects poor judgment and suggests a lack of integrity among his Silicon Valley supporters.
Moritz’s concerns come amid high-profile endorsements of Trump from figures such as Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, Elon Musk, and other venture capitalists including David Sacks and Joe Lonsdale. Despite this, Moritz remains skeptical about Trump’s performance in Silicon Valley and believes his support in the tech community will be limited.
On the other hand, prominent figures like Reid Hoffman and more than 100 venture capitalists have publicly supported Kamala Harris, the likely Democratic nominee. The “VCs for Kamala” pledge has garnered substantial backing, reflecting a significant counter-narrative to Trump’s support in the tech industry.
Moritz, who has a history of significant charitable contributions and previously supported Republican candidates like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mitt Romney, argues that supporting Trump represents a fundamental error.
He suggests that wealthy investors who back authoritarian figures often deceive themselves into believing they can control these leaders, a notion he dismisses as historically naïve.
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