Donald Trump Is Not The Problem
Sure, I cant believe I wrote that either. But here we are. Oh how I long to live in uninteresting times……
I mean, not really. As a middle aged, single woman, we have never had a more privileged position than we do today. Previous centuries can get in the trash. Yet, its hard not to feel genuinely scared. And if not scared, then nail bitingly, panic inducingly, worried.
Overnight (Australian time) we heard that eponymous VC firm Andreesen Horowitz/a16z plan to donate money to support Trump’s campaign. This is after Elon Musk pledged $66m per month to Trump’s campaign until the election. For those who aren’t aware, campaign dollars matter, because, surprise, surprise, p̶r̶o̶p̶a̶g̶a̶n̶d̶a̶paying for media coverage increases the chances of your message reaching the voters. Earlier, prominent tech names such as Paladin cofounder, Joe Lonsdale and the Winklevi, made similar pledges. This is of course, after legendary investor and contrarian Peter Thiel famously backed Trump in his 2016 Presidential bid. Not to mention the rabid super-fan-tech-bros David Sacks, Jason Calacanis and Chamath Palihapitiya who, with respect to their devotion to Musk and Trump, make Swifties as a fanbase look uncommitted.
Yesterday we heard that JD Vance — the ‘anti-elite’, but-actually-elite, venture capitalist, Yale graduate who came to fame by monetizing his poverty stricken childhood with the excellent autobiographical Hillbilly Elegy — has been chosen as the VP running mate for Donald Trump. A position that is only open, because Trump encouraged his followers/constituents to kill the last one (Pence) when he wouldn’t agree the election result where he lost, was false. Vance of course rose to prominence criticising Trump and extreme conservatives calling their politics ‘crack cocaine’ for the very people he grew up with and wrote about in his book.
I guess if you cant beat ’em, join ’em. Or alternatively, I guess the high is worth pain.
Over the years, Vance has swung to the more extreme conservative right. For example he aims to narrow the already narrowing reproductive rights for women in the US, claiming he is against abortion even in cases of incest or rape. Already 1 in 5 women need to cross state lines to access reproductive healthcare in the U.S. His appointment has cemented the Republican party and the candidates policy position as super conservative.
Most of the tech elite who have recently pledged their support for Trump have emphasised they are doing so because they think he will be a better option for the tech industry. For example with A16Z, reports say a letter to their employees went to great lengths to say this is not an endorsement of other policies like abortion rights.
But here’s the thing, folks. You cant separate out single issues. If you pick a candidate or an administration because of one thing you like, you get all the other things you don’t.
But I’m now going to say the quiet part out loud. These tech ‘leaders’ don’t actually care about those other issues, because they don’t affect them.
Hard to care about reproductive rights if you never have to deal with the consequences of an unwanted pregnancy and most of the people you work with and the founders you invest in, aren’t women.
Hard to care about greater access to healthcare when you have so much money, you can buy anything you need.
Hard to care about or the rule of law, or democratic principles, when by the nature of your donation, or the installation of your tech bro brethren as a vice president who is one cholesterol point away from the presidency, you can expect a quid pro quo that benefits you.
Tech ‘leadership’ to these guys apparently means just feeding the tech beast. Call me old fashioned, but I have a different definition of leadership.
I know people bristle when things like “we are moving head long into fascism” and “this is potentially the end of democracy” are bandied about. Said in a vacuum it sounds horrifically alarmist. Said in the context of what we are experiencing it feels terrifyingly real.
What’s worse is that its almost impossible to have a sane and thoughtful conversation about it. People have retreated to their diametrically opposed poles. Wokeism on one side, Fascism on the other. I mean that’s what it’s come to, right?
When we have non-peaceful/contested transitions of power, or incitement of violence by a President in a nations capital, or we have attempted assasinations of presidential candidates, or we have a system where a President is granted effective immunity for any official acts, or a presidential candidate who has publicly stated he intends to throw his political opponents in prison if voted in, democracy is in its dying throws, right? And if we vote those who don’t play by the rules of democracy in, that’s the nail in democracy’s coffin.
And what’s the upside to speaking out about any of it? If the authoritarian leader doesn’t get in, no-one gives you a pat on the back. If the authoritarian leader does win power, you can count on a target on that back instead. Cue vicious cycle where silence begets silence, begets 1940's Germany.
The only way to really speak out safely, is to vote, and even that privilege is terrifyingly unused by our American brethren. I can wax lyrical for days about all the things I don’t understand about American politics, including why the Democratic party wont nominate a more capable person (yes, he is a good public servant and good man, and has steered a great presidency but he is not capable as president for four more years — denial is not a campaign strategy) as the presidential nominee, but the most difficult of all to understand is why Americans wouldn’t want a say in what happens to them and their country. Sadly, only a minority percentage of people vote.
The problem isn’t Trump, or Biden, or Vance, or the Supreme Court (ok maybe the SCOTUS is a problem), it’s that the American people aren’t voting, and the ones who are, are voting for single issues that benefit them the most rather than the administration which have the suite of policies that will benefit the greater society.
We can complain for hours on podcasts and for thousands of words in OpEds about why a convicted felon and a court adjudicated rapist is the most likely person to command the once, most-powerful democracy of the free world, or why a feeble man with declining health is the best possible defence that same democracy can install to oppose him, or you can look at the administration, their policies, track record and behaviour and vote.
In 2018, I actually asked Peter Thiel whether his felt his contrarian bet to support Trump had worked out. He told me ‘its too early to tell”.
Vote.
