How Tech Companies Are Getting Involved in Supporting US Presidential Candidates

Unlike their role in previous US presidential elections, tech companies are trying to get deeply involved in the candidates’ campaigns, and even into the geopolitical debates related to the elections.

The role of tech companies is no longer limited to combating misinformation and fake news, but has extended to the possibility of tipping the chances of one candidate winning over the other, and trying to directly influence the actual reality of the electoral race.

While a number of Silicon Valley tech giants have donated to Republican candidate Donald Trump, informed sources told CNBC that supporters of Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in Silicon Valley are making efforts to raise more than $100 million.

Tech Giants

While most leaders of major tech companies initially remained silent about the current state of the US elections, some loud voices came out and publicly supported Trump.

The shift in the electoral race after Biden's withdrawal has changed the scene, and a number of major companies and platforms have expressed public support for Trump.

Trump’s camp includes some of the wealthiest tech investors in the United States, who have decided to maximize their interests by backing Trump.

Trump is currently backed by Peter Thiel, Ben Horowitz, David Sacks, Chamath Palihapitiya, and Elon Musk, leading some to suggest that Silicon Valley, long known for its left-leaning leaders, has become less liberal this year.

The pro-Trump voices have been coming as momentum has grown over the July 2024 assassination attempt on him.

Elon Musk wrote on his X platform, just 30 minutes after the shooting: “I fully support President Trump, and I hope he recovers quickly.”

Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz have also voiced their support for Trump’s choice of J.D. Vance as his running mate.

Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of Meta, said that “the images after the assassination attempt showing Trump standing with his fists raised were incredible. That spirit is what drove many people to support him.”

Just a day before the attempted assassination of Trump, Meta finally lifted all restrictions it had imposed on Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts over his support for the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.

Despite her friendships with some important figures in the tech industry, Kamala Harris has a complicated history with Silicon Valley, having been tough on tech giants like Facebook and PayPal when she was California’s attorney general.

Biden’s withdrawal, Harris’ nomination, and her attempts to reassure donors that she is a capitalist have shifted the position of some tech companies.

Harris has already won public endorsements from high-profile figures, including investor and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, and Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, who reportedly donated $7 million to Harris’s campaign.

That’s in addition to messages of support from both Sheryl Sandberg, a former COO at Meta, and Melinda French Gates, a manager at Microsoft.

“Kamala Harris is the right person at the right time,” Reid Hoffman said in a post on X.

Massive Donations

America Pac, the super PAC formed in late May to support Trump, had raised more than $8.7 million from 13 tech giants through the end of June, according to a quarterly financial report filed with the Federal Election Commission, including a $1 million donation from Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale.

Andreessen Horowitz founders and Sequoia’s Doug Lyons are among the tech contributors backing Donald Trump’s presidential bid.

Keith Rabois, an executive at PayPal and LinkedIn, who called Trump a sociopath in 2016, has pledged $1 million to his campaign.

There's an old saying in American politics that 'money follows money', so many expect the influx of contributions from tech moguls to generate more cash for Republicans in the coming weeks.

As for the financial support received by the other party, a Financial Times article revealed that about 80% of donations from internet companies have gone to Democrats so far in the current election race.

While that’s down from 90% in 2020, it’s a sign that tech veterans like Reid Hoffman are still backing the Democratic Party. 

Several tech leaders have made six-figure donations to the Biden Victory Fund, a super PAC that has been renamed the Harris Victory Fund.

Several tech leaders have made six-figure donations to the super PAC, the Biden Victory Fund, which has been renamed the Harris Victory Fund.

Federal Election Commission data shows that the committee has received money from Laurene Powell Jobs, the entrepreneur and wife of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, and Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI.

In addition, Skydance founder and CEO David Ellison, who is set to lead Paramount after the two companies merge, even though his father, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, was a staunch Republican.

Strict Restrictions

Tech companies’ position and engagement in the US election landscape are linked to several factors, including growing dissatisfaction with President Biden’s performance, a desire to cut taxes, and Trump’s choice of a running mate with influence in the tech community.

After growing eightfold between 2012 and 2022 to $344 billion, the emerging tech sector is now stagnant thanks to high interest rates, which have slowed the flow of capital.

The reasons for the shift in tech makers’ position are therefore more commercial than ideological.

Trump’s supporters in Silicon Valley are betting that the former president will lower their tax burden and boost their businesses’ profits, in an attempt to avoid Biden’s proposed plan to impose an additional $5 trillion in taxes on corporations and high-income earners over the next decade.

In recent years, the Federal Trade Commission has imposed strict restrictions on tech companies, which has negatively affected mergers and acquisitions by big tech companies.

Tech monopolies have also been targeted, with Amazon, Meta, Google, Apple, and others being pursued in court.

While Trump is unlikely to tolerate tech monopolies, the feeling in tech circles is that a Republican administration will not be as hostile to mergers as the current administration.

Trump’s choice of J.D. Vance, who has invested in dozens of AI startups through his firm Naria Capital, means that AI regulation will be more flexible, providing a strong boost to AI startup founders and backers.

Among Vance’s fans in the tech world are David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya, who previously hosted a fundraiser for Trump.

Elon Musk also praised Trump’s choice of J.D. Vance, a former venture capitalist, writing on X: “Trump-Vance resounds with victory.”

Despite Trump’s promises to tech owners, his policy on the issue is largely unclear. He has backed away from banning TikTok and is courting Silicon Valley giants who support him in hopes of lower capital taxes and less regulation.

But Trump’s customs tariff plans could send a ripple effect through Silicon Valley and could push inflation back up.

A Kamala Harris win could mean more restrictions on tech companies, albeit at a slower pace than under Biden.

Despite her tough approach to tech companies, she has maintained strong relationships with some tech owners.

Harris’s chances of winning the election could also be boosted by the voting power of tech workers.

A Huffington Post report uncovered thousands of emails that reportedly outline Harris’ soft approach to big tech companies.

While she has publicly called for more regulation of tech giants like Meta, Harris has also been reluctant to support calls to break up such companies.

“I think that technology companies should be regulated in a way that we can guarantee, and the American consumer can be sure that their privacy is not compromised,” she told The New York Times in a 2020 interview.

Additionally, Harris has been fairly outspoken when it comes to AI. She specifically expressed her concerns about the most pressing threats that AI poses to society.