Being a Trump supporter in a family of liberal, Northeastern Democrats is nothing compared to the black sheep feeling Peter Thiel must harbor. Thiel is the co-founder of PayPal, board member of Facebook, a resident of Silicon Valley, and an openly gay man.
Thiel is also an unabashed Trump supporter.
The tech billionaire spoke publicly again on his support for the Trump at the National Press Club in Washington on Monday, and delved into why the GOP nominee has gained a strong following, despite flaws from both parties.
“Now I don’t agree with everything Donald Trump has said and done, and I don’t think the millions of people voting for him do either,” continued Thiel, who acknowledged that some of Trump’s comments, particularly about women, “were clearly offensive and inappropriate.”“But I don’t think voters pull the lever in order to endorse a candidate’s flaws,” he said. “It’s not a lack of judgment that leads Americans to vote for Trump. We’re voting for Trump because we judge the leadership of our country to have failed.”
This was not the first time Thiel has praised Trump. To the dismay of his Silicon Valley colleagues, Thiel gave a highly publicized speech at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in support of Donald Trump.
The tech billionaire has also put financial weight behind his vocal backing. In the beginning of October, he announced a one million dollar contribution to help get Trump elected.
His support hasn’t been without savage criticism from others. The tech industry in Silicon Valley, California is a deep shade of blue. Most have lambasted Thiel for backing the GOP nominee. He has also taken heat for being a gay supporter of Trump. Most notably, LGBT Magazine The Advocate made the interesting case Thiel is not gay because he is voting for Trump.
In most Democrats’ minds, they are entitled to all votes of certain demographics. Trump supporter or not, Thiel should be praised for neglecting all the blistering attacks and staying proud of his candidate of choice.