The Big Story 

Former President Trump's announcement of Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) as his running mate is bolstering support for the Republican ticket among conservatives in Silicon Valley, who have increasingly consolidated around the former president.

© Jeff Swensen, Getty Images

The 39-year-old former venture capitalist joins the GOP ticket as a growing number of leaders in Silicon Valley — once considered a liberal bastion — have rallied around Trump, particularly in the wake of an assassination attempt on the former president last weekend. 

Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk formally endorsed Trump on Saturday, shortly after the shooting at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. Musk’s endorsement marks a turning point for the owner of Tesla, SpaceX and the social platform X, who had previously supported Democrats. 

“The last several months, Elon has been signaling that he’s been leaning to the Republican side,” said Bhaskar Chakravorti, dean of global business at the Fletcher School at Tufts University. “He was leaning in this direction anyway, and this was the perfect moment for him to formalize that.” 

Like Musk, several wealthy tech leaders who once donated to Democrats are now backing Trump. They join a small, existing contingent of conservatives in Silicon Valley, as well as an expanding cohort of cryptocurrency investors who are dissatisfied with the Biden administration’s approach to the emerging digital assets industry. 

This group cheered the decision to bring Vance onto the Republican ticket Monday.  

Jacob Helberg, senior adviser to the CEO of Palantir Technologies, said in a post on X that the Ohio senator “will be a historic and uniquely capable Vice President.” Helberg, once a prominent Democratic donor, has reportedly donated $1 million to Trump’s campaign.  

Investor Balaji Srinivasan pointed to Vance’s history as a “successful tech investor” and his understanding of the “military, media, tech, finance, and politics” in describing him as a “great choice for VP.” 

Venture capitalist David Sacks, a longtime GOP donor who hosted a fundraiser for the former president at his San Francisco home in June, touted the Marine Corps veteran as an “American patriot,” adding, “This is who I want by Trump’s side.” 

“God bless JD, God bless Trump, and God bless the USA,” he wrote on X. 

Read more in a full report at TheHill.com.

Welcome to The Hill’s Technology newsletter, we're Rebecca Klar and Julia Shapero — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley.

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