Ben Horowitz says he’ll donate to Kamala Harris in any case

“As I discussed earlier than, Felicia and I’ve recognized Vice President Harris for over 10 years and he or she has been an excellent buddy to each of us throughout that point,” Horowitz wrote in an electronic mail to his enterprise capital agency obtained by Axios. “Because of our friendship, Felicia and I shall be making a major donation to entities who assist the Harris Walz marketing campaign.”

I… hear. Two issues. First, one of the vital hanging issues concerning the podcast Horowitz made along with his a16z co-founder Marc Andreessen was how centered each males had been on who’d take their conferences. Their political commitments, in lots of respects, boiled all the way down to who would spend face time with them. Close to the tip of the podcast, Horowitz informed what was (I feel?) imagined to be a heartwarming story about hanging out with Trump’s grandkids — and the way his response to listening to concerning the assassination try on Trump was, “Oh my god, Grandpa simply acquired shot.”

So, you recognize, the entire thing the place Harris has been “an excellent buddy” to each Horowitz and his spouse checks out as a political place for him. In some respects, I get it. I too wish to see my mates succeed!

However second, that essential Trump endorsement was made earlier than Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race in favor of Harris, and earlier than the huge outpouring of assist for the brand new Democratic candidate. That meant a16z had already sacrificed any leverage it may need with a Harris administration — and a candidate who made Trump appear like much less of a certain winner. Within the case of a Harris win, these boys had been a complete 4 years with out necessary conferences, and we already know they view that as a dreadful tragedy for your entire nation.

So as to regain any risk of leverage in a doubtlessly Democrat-led authorities, somebody was going to need to eat humble pie, and it certain as shit wasn’t going to be Andreessen. Horowitz, whose assist for Trump was termed a “Maga U-turn” by The San Francisco Normal, has a historical past of donating to progressive causes; Harris, then a senator, was even a visitor at a Horowitz yard barbecue in 2018.

“I’m simply questioning what they’re gonna do when Kamala wins,” one founder informed The San Francisco Normal of the a16z Trump endorsement. “Like, how do you stroll that again?”

Properly, I suppose we all know now. Horowitz’s electronic mail says that he’s had a number of conversations with Harris and her staff — essential to notice right here that he acquired to the candidate herself, provided that entry is seemingly considered one of Horowitz’s primary political considerations. And so whereas Horowitz nonetheless thinks President Joe Biden is no-good and really dangerous, he’s “inspired by my perception” in Harris to do good for tech, even if she has not but staked out any coverage positions.

Harris has kind of made overtures on what Horowitz termed “in all probability probably the most emotional subject” within the election: crypto. One among her marketing campaign aides has stated, “She’s going to assist insurance policies that be certain that rising applied sciences and that kind of trade can proceed to develop,” in response to a query about crypto.