Venture capitalist Peter Thiel explains his support for Trump

WASHINGTON — Accompanied by a security detail befitting a petty potentate, California billionaire Peter Thiel told an audience at Washington’s National Press Club Monday that GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump “gets the big things right.”

Thiel used the heavily promoted speech to defend his controversial $1.25 million donation last month to Trump’s campaign, and to leverage his newfound celebrity, however negative, to expound on his theories of government, politics and foreign affairs.

The venture capitalist, who co-founded PayPal, backed Trump during the California primary and spoke at the Republican National Convention in July.

Thiel lamented the cost of health care, the burden of student loans and the “actuarial bankruptcy” of Social Security, although he pointed to no specific plan of Trump’s to address his concerns.

Dressed in a suit with an open shirt collar and no tie, the self-described libertarian defended Trump’s refusal to release his tax returns, a move that has kept the public in the dark about the self-described billionaire’s net worth, potential conflicts of interest and charitable giving.

Expressing pity for “single-digit millionaires” lacking the means to defend themselves, Thiel also explained during a question-and-answer period his secret funding of a lawsuit by former wrestler Hulk Hogan that helped kill the gossip website Gawker.

Asked about Trump’s proposed ban on allowing Muslims to enter the country, Thiel repeated the well-worn line from campaign coverage that voters take Trump seriously but not literally, while elites take Trump literally but not seriously.