“As I discussed earlier than, Felicia and I’ve identified Vice President Harris for over 10 years and he or she has been an ideal good friend to each of us throughout that point,” Horowitz wrote in an electronic mail to his enterprise capital agency obtained by Axios. “On account of our friendship, Felicia and I can be making a big donation to entities who help the Harris Walz marketing campaign.”
“Like, how do you stroll that again?”
I… pay attention. Two issues. First, probably the most putting issues in regards to the podcast Horowitz made together with his a16z co-founder Marc Andreessen was how centered each males have been on who’d take their conferences. Their political commitments, in lots of respects, boiled right down to who would spend face time with them. Close to the tip of the podcast, Horowitz instructed what was (I feel?) speculated to be a heartwarming story about hanging out with Trump’s grandkids — and the way his response to listening to in regards to the assassination try on Trump was, “Oh my god, Grandpa simply acquired shot.”
So, you understand, the entire thing the place Harris has been “an ideal good friend” to each Horowitz and his spouse checks out as a political place for him. In some respects, I get it. I, too, need to see my associates 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 large outpouring of help 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 to be much less of a positive winner. Within the case of a Harris win, these boys have been taking a look at a complete 4 years with out necessary conferences, and we already know they view that as a dreadful tragedy for your complete nation.
With the intention to regain any risk of leverage in a doubtlessly Democrat-led authorities, somebody was going to must eat humble pie, and it positive as shit wasn’t going to be Andreessen. Horowitz, whose help for Trump was termed a “Maga U-turn” by The San Francisco Commonplace, 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 instructed The San Francisco Commonplace of the a16z Trump endorsement. “Like, how do you stroll that again?”
Nicely, I suppose we all know now. Horowitz’s electronic mail says that he’s had a number of conversations with Harris and her workforce — essential to notice right here that he acquired to the candidate herself, provided that entry is seemingly considered one of Horowitz’s fundamental 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 supposing she has not but staked out any coverage positions.
Harris has kind of made overtures on what Horowitz termed “most likely probably the most emotional subject” within the election: crypto. One among her marketing campaign aides has stated, “She’s going to help insurance policies that be sure that rising applied sciences and that kind of business can proceed to develop,” in response to a query about crypto.
