On Saturday night, former and potentially future President Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt at his rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania. The political atmosphere has certainly been fraught lately, and has fever pitch in this country. As news of the shooting came out on Saturday, so did the reminders that Reid Hoffman, a mega-donor for President Joe Biden, said he wanted to make Trump an "actual martyr."
Just yesterday, Joe Biden mega-donor @reidhoffman was making jokes about assassinating Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/sMXbUq1O8a
— Andrew Surabian (@Surabees) July 13, 2024
The remarks were shared by Puck News' Dylan Byers, who on Friday had put out an article on "The Thiel-Hoffman Face-off in Sun Valley," referring to a tense meeting that former friends Peter Thiel and Hoffman had at a summit in Idaho.
Thiel had spoken about how Hoffman funding the lawsuits against Trump turned him into "a martyr," with Thiel telling Hoffman "I am so grateful to you," with the effect it has on his chances for reelection. Hoffman retorted back with his comment that "I wish I had made him an actual martyr."
As Byers wrote with original emphasis:
Alas, in the summer of a highly fraught presidential campaign season, even this idyllic retreat is not immune from the tensions roiling the rest of society. And, at one point, things took a decidedly tense and awkward turn when former Stanford classmates Reid Hoffman and Peter Thiel began sparring over Biden and Trump, with the entire conference looking on.
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As their exchange here at the conference made clear, it has indeed been quite challenging. On Wednesday morning, more than half a dozen conference attendees told me, Hoffman was onstage with Palantir C.E.O. Alex Karp in conversation with moderator Andrew Ross Sorkin. At one point, Sorkin asked Hoffman to talk about his relationship with Thiel. Reid offered some kind words for his former friend but said he doesn’t speak to him anymore because of his support for Trump, which Hoffman called “a moral issue.”
Thiel, who was sitting in the audience along with all the other conference attendees, appeared to be visibly miffed over this accusation of moral delinquency. He ultimately stood up for himself and offered his own retort. As multiple attendees told me, Thiel told Hoffman that his door was always open if he ever wanted to talk. He also sarcastically thanked him for having sent him a deck of his “Trumped Up Cards”—the satirical anti-Trump, Cards Against Humanity-style deck Hoffman created in 2016. “I sent you the first deck, Peter,” Hoffman replied.
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Then, in what one source described as “the dagger” and another as a “twist of the knife,” Thiel sarcastically thanked Hoffman for funding lawsuits against Trump because they had turned him into “a martyr,” thereby increasing his chances of re-election. “I am so grateful to you,” Thiel said.
From the stage, Hoffman shot back with his own sarcastic quip: “Yeah, I wish I had made him an actual martyr.” And, on that very uncomfortable note, the exchange ended. (Both Hoffman and Thiel did not respond to emails requesting comment.)
The incident was a subject of much discussion at dinner that night, I’m told. Even up until Friday, several conference attendees were still reflecting on the surreal nature of what they’d witnessed. “It was a thing,” one told me. “It was so intense and so incredibly weird—and just sad.” As another attendee put it: “It was very intense, it was awkward for everyone because it was real. This was not them being funny. This is the breakdown of a lifelong friendship and relationship. And seeing it on public display from such people? It says so much about where the country is.”
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Hoffman has not posted since July 11, as of early Sunday morning. This means he's yet to post from his X account about Trump being shot. His pinned post from June 20 accuses Trump supporter David Sacks of "awkwardly regurgitating pro-Trump groupthink" with his endorsement.
Elon Musk, who endorsed Trump on Saturday night, highlighted Hoffman's remarks and Byers' coverage with screenshots shared to his X account. "
"The Reid Hoffman’s [sic] of the world got their dearest wish … but then the martyr lived," Musk noted.
The Reid Hoffman’s of the world got their dearest wish … but then the martyr lived pic.twitter.com/laaRBc5yol
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 14, 2024
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