Tech CEO Amjad Massad revealed to Tucker Carlson on Thursday why Silicon Valley has come to support former President Donald Trump in the 2024 election.
Massad heads AI coding startup Splitappeared on the Tucker Carlson Show to talk about his experience in the tech industry and the changes he's seen over the past few years. During the interview, Massad pointed to the Democratic Party's strong push for regulation of artificial intelligence (AI), which appears to be a major factor in Silicon Valley's growing support for the Republican Party and Trump heading into November. (Related: Department of Justice says Chinese Communist Party-linked TikTok collected data on U.S. users' political views)
“So, to the question of whether we're going to be captive to regulation, I mean, I think that's why you see Silicon Valley getting involved in politics. You know, Silicon Valley has always been involved in politics. I came in in 2012, early on in my term, during the Romney-Obama debates,” Massad said.
“Can I just pause for a second? Imagine a debate between Romney and Obama, where they agree on everything,” interjected Carlson, co-founder of the Daily News Caller Foundation.
Massad said “everyone around me” in the industry supports Democrats and calls Republicans “idiots.”
“I wasn't seeing a lot of upbeat stuff and people were … making fun of Romney, like he said something like a binder full of women and he was sticking with it. And I remember asking everyone around me, 'Who are you with?' [they were] “It's like, 'Of course, Democrat, of course,'” Massad said.
“I thought, 'Why doesn't anyone support the Republican Party?' And they say, 'Because they're stupid, and only stupid people.' [go for] “Silicon Valley was a state capital in a way,” Massad continued. “In fact, [if you] For example, we have donation data by company: Netflix gives 99% to Democrats and 1% to Republicans.”
The tech CEO went on to complain about a sudden rightward shift in the industry, highlighting venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz as contributing to the movement.
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“So a lot of people are surprised that people in tech are leaning Republican, leaning Trump. Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, in particular, did a two-hour podcast where they explained why they were going to vote for Trump, which, by the way, they would never have done in 2018 or 2019. So [there’s] This change in atmosphere that's happening…”
Carlson quickly interjected, asking Massad how his support for Trump was “being perceived.”
“It's still controversial, but I think it's a lot better than what happened 10 years ago. It would have been canceled, nobody would have liked it, and the founders wouldn't have gotten their money,” Massad continued.
“But again, I'm an outsider, I'm just looking, but Andreessen Horowitz is very big and influential and considered smart and not crazy at all. If Andreessen Horowitz did it, I'm sure people's minds would change,” Carlson replied.
Massad agreed with Carlson that both Andresen and Horowitz are “definitely” changing people's minds politically, noting that this has “emboldened” others to support the former president.
“Yeah, it certainly would have changed people's minds. I think it would have at least given people the courage to say I support Trump too. But I think it would change my mind,” he said.[inds]”Part of their argument for supporting Trump is that Democrats are very keen to regulate it,” Massad said.
Massad ultimately criticized Vice President Kamala Harris' appearance at an AI safety conference in November 2023, where she announced additional measures to prevent future AI risks. according to Speaking to The New York Times, Massad said the vice president did not appear to be familiar with the tech industry.
In early June, venture capitalists David Sachs and Chamath Palihapitiya hosted a fundraiser for the former president in San Francisco that raised $12 million. Sachs said in an interview with Fox News that he was surprised by the outpouring of support.
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