Trump, Vance campaign eyes Peter Thiel’s support as tech billionaire stays mum
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The presence of tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel loomed large at last week's Republican National Convention, yet the one-time Donald Trump-supporting billionaire was nowhere to be found.
And he still isn't, at least according to Trump campaign officials who say Thiel still hasn't said if he will back Trump with his name and money in the 2024 presidential campaign, FOX Business has learned.
It's such an odd absence that Trump supporters are hoping it will change any minute now. After all, his protege, venture capital executive and author turned Ohio senator, JD Vance, was officially nominated as the party's vice presidential candidate to run in the November election alongside Trump. Another Thiel associate, pro wrestler Hulk Hogan – whose successful defamation suit against the news outlet Gawker was stealthily financed by Thiel – gave a rousing speech during the convention.
Peter Thiel, president and founder of Clarium Capital Management LLC, speaks during the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami, Florida, on April 7, 2022. (Photographer: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Thiel is also close to Elon Musk, the billionaire Tesla chief who, like Thiel, made his initial fortune as a founder of PayPal. Musk has endorsed Trump and is reportedly donating $45 million per month to his campaign.
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And yet, Thiel is still nowhere to be found in Trump land.
"I’m guessing he comes back to Trump because his guy just accepted the nomination for VP," said one Trump campaign adviser. "But he's been quiet; he hasn't told his closest friends and colleagues what he's up to."
A spokesman for Thiel did not respond to a request for comment.
Despite being one of Trump’s biggest supporters in 2016 (he donated $1.25 million to his campaign), he’s recently soured on the former president. The exact reason is unclear, but Thiel has described the previous Trump administration as "crazier" and "more dangerous" than he expected. In a June interview at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Thiel said he would not be donating money to Trump’s super PAC, saying "If you hold a gun to my head, I’ll vote for Trump."
Former President Donald Trump waves to the crowd on the field during halftime in the Palmetto Bowl between Clemson and South Carolina at Williams Brice Stadium on Nov. 25, 2023, in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Yet, Thiel has been a long-time donor to the Republican Party. He gave more than $30 million to help Republicans in the 2022 election cycle, but last year it was reported that he would not be funding any candidates in the 2024 election cycle because of his dissatisfaction with the party’s prioritizing cultural issues rather than furthering U.S. innovation.
The selection of Vance has moved the party in a more populist direction, but Trump and Vance have signaled they will embrace issues close to Thiel's heart: A pro-tech, pro-innovation approach, including prioritizing cryptocurrency and AI development – all things that fit with Thiel’s political philosophy.
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According to campaign sources, Thiel and Musk teamed up to lobby Trump to make Vance his VP pick in recent weeks, pushing him over other rumored candidates like Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
Thiel donated $15 million to Vance’s 2022 Senate campaign and is said to have influenced his endorsement from Trump, which helped Vance win the tightly contested GOP Senate primary race that year.
Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, and his wife Usha Chilukuri Vance celebrate as he is nominated as former President Trump's running mate on the first day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 15, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Meanwhile, other Thiel associates have pledged to open their wallets for Trump including Joe Lonsdale, who co-founded tech firm Palantir with Thiel, and his former PayPal colleague David Sacks, as well Sequoia Capital’s Doug Leone, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz of tech VC firm Andreessen Horowitz.
Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen speaks at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco, California, on Sept. 13, 2016. | Getty Images
Taken together, people inside the Trump campaign say they are confident Thiel will soon endorse the GOP ticket.
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"I give it a month or two before Thiel comes in and donates," said a person close to the Trump campaign, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "Now that Vance is on the ticket, he’ll want to show his support for him and his appreciation for Trump picking him."