Renowned venture capital investor Peter Thiel has made a bold commitment not to financially support any Republican candidates running for office in the 2024 election. In an interview with The Atlantic, Thiel revealed his decision, emphasizing his intention to honor it by sharing it publicly.
Thiel’s motivation for granting a series of extensive interviews was to solidify his pledge, ensuring its lasting impact. “There’s always a chance I might change my mind,” Thiel stated, adding, “But by talking to you, it makes it hard for me to change my mind. My husband doesn’t want me to give them any more money, and he’s right. I know they’re going to be pestering me like crazy. And by talking to you, it’s going to lock me out of the cycle for 2024.”
As a co-founder of PayPal and Palantir, and an early investor in Facebook, Thiel has been a prominent advocate for Republican candidates in recent years. In the 2022 election cycle, he generously contributed $10 million each to Blake Masters, an unsuccessful Republican Senate candidate, and GOP Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, who emerged victorious.
Thiel’s endorsement of Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election also garnered significant attention. He delivered a memorable speech at the Republican National Convention that year and provided a financial donation of $1.25 million to support Trump’s successful bid for the presidency.
Reflecting on his past support for Trump, Thiel admitted that the administration’s performance fell short of his expectations. “Voting for Trump was like a not very articulate scream for help,” he remarked. “There were a lot of things I got wrong. It was crazier than I thought. It was more dangerous than I thought. They couldn’t get the most basic pieces of government to work.”
Thiel’s commitment to refrain from funding Republican politicians in the upcoming election demonstrates a significant shift in his political contributions, highlighting his evolving perspective and desire for change.
