This story was originally published by OpenSecrets.
Ex-president Donald Trumpdecision made last week regarding the election of a senator. JD VanceR-Ohio, has received praise from prominent tech industry investors and donors as vice presidential candidate.
David Sacks, former CEO of Yammer and a staunch supporter of the former president, called Vance an “American patriot” in an interview with The New York Times. social media post about Xwhile Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk called the vice president made an “excellent decision.”
Later, the Wall Street Journal reported that Musk, who supported The former president plans to donate about $45 million a month until the November election to a pro-Trump super PAC.
The super PAC – simply called America PAC – has raised about $8.8 million since its launch in tardy May, according to campaign finance reports filed on July 14. Donors include other familiar names from the tech elite, such as Shaun Maguire and Doug Leone of Sequoia Capital, Joe Lonsdale of Palantir and Antonio Gracias, a former Tesla executive and founder of Valor Equity Partners.
Trump’s decision to become vice president also drew praise from the Heritage Foundation, the influential think tank behind the sweeping federal overhaul known as Project 2025. Heritage CEO Kevin Roberts was apparently satisfied when he learned about the announcement while talking to reporters in political event before the Republican National Convention, June 15.
“You’ll see a big smile on my face because you can tell we’re good friends,” Roberts said. “We were really rooting for him privately.”
Vance rose to national fame after the publication of “Hillbilly Elegy,” his 2016 memoir detailing his tough childhood in middle America and he offered an explanation for Trump’s appeal among white working-class voters.
After four years in the Marine Corps, Vance studied political science and philosophy at Ohio State University and attended Yale Law School. He then worked at a immense corporate law firm and then as a principal at tech billionaire Peter Thiel’s investment firm in San Francisco before launching In 2020, he founded his own Ohio-based venture capital fund.
Vance was vocal critic Trump in 2016 before becoming one of his most ardent supporters. With Trump’s endorsement, Vance won reelection to the Ohio Senate in 2022, after the most steep race in the history of the state.
He was helped by Vance’s former boss, Thiel. to support as part of his Senate campaign, donating more than $15 million to a super PAC that supported a political newcomer in the primary and general elections, OpenSecrets analysis campaign finance reports found.
Bags too donated $1 million to pro-Vance super PAC in 2022
Trump had a tough time keeping up with the president Joe Bidenfundraising operation early in the election cycle and was speculation that the former president will choose a vice presidential candidate who has fundraising experience or assets at his disposal, like the governor. Doug Burgum (RN.D.), who he spent millions money for his political career. But a surge in donations following Trump’s conviction in a New York criminal trial for hush money helped close the fundraising gap between the former and current presidents.
At the same time, Vance’s past ties as a venture capitalist could provide a bridge between Trump and Silicon Valley, where some of the tech elite sour on Biden regarding the White House’s stance on taxes, artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies.
In June, Vance he helped Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya — founder of Social Capital and Democratic donor — organized a fundraiser in San Francisco for Trump that raised as much as $300,000 per plate, according to reporting by CNBC.
Another venture capitalist, Marc Andreessen, helped fund Vance’s investment firm. The day after Vance became Trump’s vice president, Andreessen and his business partner, Ben Horowitz, announced that they will support the former president’s campaign.
In a video explaining their decision, Andreessen and Horowitz cited, among other things, the Republican Party’s commitment in its party platform to support the cryptocurrency industry.
The couple already poured out $47 million to several super PACs this cycle to elect pro-crypto candidates, according to an OpenSecrets analysis of campaign finance reports. Andreessen and Horowitz have previously split their donations between Republicans and Democrats.
As for Thiel, he has supported Trump in the past, but then… disappointed with the former president after the 2020 election. At the Aspen Ideas Festival in June, Thiel he said that he’d vote for Trump “if you put a gun to my head,” but has no plans to give money to pro-Trump super PACs.
Thiel had not financially supported any candidate or PAC this election cycle as of June 30, according to an analysis of campaign finance reports by OpenSecrets.
Thiel was among the largest donors in the 2022 midterm elections.
