Trump’s Tech Bro Fanboys Wanted Him Jailed After Jan. 6th

They once called the guy a “complete piece-of-shit fucking scumbag.” Now they’re fundraising for his campaign.

ONE OF THE MOST NOTABLE TRENDS in the 2024 cycle has been the emergence of a cadre of prominent Silicon Valley donors who have gone full MAGA.

The most prominent of them is Elon Musk, who cemented his position as a Donald Trump fanboy with a viral leap at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania this weekend. But the most influential of the MAGA Tech Set has been two hosts of the All-In podcast: long-time Republican David Sacks and Trumpy convert Chamath Palihapitiya. They are joined on the podcast by Jason Calacanis (who has become Trump-curious) and token Democrat David Friedberg. In addition to their roles as podcast and social media advocates for Trump, Palihapitiya and Sacks co-hosted a mega-fundraiser for the candidate back in June.

Founder/CEO of Social Capital, Chamath Palihapitiya, speaks onstage during "The State of the Valley: Where’s the Juice?" at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on October 19, 2016 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Mike Windle/Getty Images for Vanity Fair)

All of this Trump-humping from a bunch of VC guys, three of whom had been mainstream Democrats not too long ago, made us wonder: When did they become MAGA converts? More specifically, what did they think of Trump after his darkest, most horrifying moment: January 6th?

The answer is that their disgust was palpable, maybe even more radical than what we were publishing here at The Bulwark, online home of Trump Derangement Syndrome.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes:

David Sacks:

• “I think he’s disqualified himself from being a candidate at a national level.”

• “I think, if you wanna see this mob as a gun, I think he loaded the gun. He pointed it in a certain direction.”

Chamath Palihapitiya:

• “I would rather take every single person arrested and give them zero days in jail and add it all up and give it to Trump.”

• “He is a complete piece-of-shit fucking scumbag.”

Jason Calacanis: 

• “He’s a maniac. I mean, this is insane, deranged, criminal, lunatic behavior.”

• On invoking the Twenty-fifth Amendment: “I think it’s the right thing to do.”

Since then, Trump has not backed off any of the claims that led to January 6th. In fact, he’s pledged to pardon the participants.

And yet, this group who thought Trump’s behavior was disqualifying, criminal, deranged, and more, now wants him in the White House again.