Trump’s platform is based on making America great again – most of which involves boosting the business world.
However, tech industry giants clearly aren’t impressed by Trump’s rhetoric: nearly 150 of the tech industry’s biggest names recently signed an open letter published on Medium that opposes Trump’s candidacy, claiming it would be disastrous for Silicon Valley businesses.
The letter specifically references problems like Trump’s anti-immigration stance, his erratic and contradictory policies, his attacks on minorities and women, and his ignorance of technology (like his plan to shut down part of the internet) as serious problems with his candidacy.
These problems, among others, would make President Trump “a disaster for innovation”, claims the letter:
“Donald Trump…campaigns on anger, bigotry, fear of new ideas and new people, and a fundamental belief that America is weak and in decline. We have listened to Donald Trump over the past year and we have concluded: Trump would be a disaster for innovation.”
The letter continues by stating that Trump is “against the open exchange of ideas, free movement of people, and productive engagement with the outside world” – all things that are crucial for America’s modern industries but are particularly crucial for Silicon Valley tech companies.
Not All Tech Giants Oppose Trump
It’s important to note that Silicon Valley isn’t universally opposed to a possible President Trump.
PayPal co-founder and Facebook investor Peter Theil, for example, will speak at the Republican National Convention in support of Trump. Theil has been in the news lately after it was revealed that he backed Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker.
Other tech giants supporting Trump include Intel’s CEO Brian Krzanich, who was prepared to open his home to a Trump fundraiser last month but later canceled that plan after a sharp backlash from Silicon Valley. Krzanich later stated that he neither supported nor disliked Trump – he just wanted to open a dialogue on tech issues without endorsing a specific candidate.
So….yeah there’s only one Silicon Valley giant who is outwardly supporting Trump and the other one is on the fence. That’s not a great record.
Overall, Silicon Valley appears to be heavily opposed to Donald Trump. Huffington Post reported back in March that tech CEOs and top Republicans in Silicon Valley held a “secretive meeting” where they created a plot to stop Trump. That meeting took place at an island off the coast of Georgia and included Apple’s CEO Tim Cook, Tesla chief Elon Musk, and Alphabet CEO Larry Page, among other enormous names.
Creating this open letter on Medium must be one part of the plot.
