What do big tech companies and billionaires think of Trump and Harris?

The 2024 US presidential election is not only a tense confrontation between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, but also attracts special attention from billionaires and large technology corporations.

Billionaire Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has expressed strong support for Mr. Trump.

According to a commentary by Turkey's Anadolu news agency on September 23, the 2024 US presidential election will not only witness fierce competition between the two main candidates, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, but will also become a battlefield for "big guys" in the technology industry and American billionaires. The heads of corporations and major donors are clearly divided into two camps, expressing support for one of the two candidates, based on personal and political views rather than direct business interests. Major technology companies stand by Ms. Harris Donation data shows that Vice President Kamala Harris has received strong support from employees at major technology corporations such as Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet, the parent company of Google. They have donated millions of dollars to support Ms. Harris's campaign. Specifically, Alphabet employees and their families have donated $2.16 million to her campaign, nearly 40 times the amount they donated to Trump's campaign. Similarly, Amazon employees have donated $1 million, 10 times the amount they donated to Trump, while Microsoft employees have donated $1.1 million, 12 times more than Trump. Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings is also one of Harris's big supporters, donating $7 million to her campaign. Meta (Facebook) and Apple, although they have not donated $1 million, are still very different. Meta employees have donated $835,000 to Harris, more than 33 times the amount they donated to Trump. Apple employees have also donated $861,000, nearly 20 times more than Trump's campaign. Billionaire Elon Musk sides with Trump In contrast, former President Donald Trump has received support from a number of prominent tech billionaires and businessmen. Most notably, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has shown strong support for Trump. Musk has not only supported financially but also used the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) he owns to spread his political views to his 198 million followers. According to Professor Mark Jones of Rice University, Musk bought Twitter not only for business purposes but also to be able to "become a more influential figure on the national stage." However, Musk's support does not seem to be entirely in line with employees at Tesla, SpaceX and X. According to OpenSecrets, Tesla employees contributed nearly twice as much to Harris' campaign ($42,824) as Trump ($24,840). At SpaceX, Harris also received nearly five times more donations than Trump, and at X, Harris received 26 times more donations than Trump. While Musk’s employees’ donations to Harris show a clear “employee-boss” divide, the billionaire remains a major Trump donor. In addition to Musk, billionaire investor Bill Ackman and investor David Sacks are also major Trump supporters. Woody Johnson, co-owner of the NFL’s New York Jets, has donated $1 million to support Trump.

The influence of tech billionaires in politics The stark divide between tech billionaires and their employees suggests that donations reflect not only business interests, but also the billionaires’ personal and political views. Professor Mark Jones explains that progressives tend to support Harris, while conservatives support Trump. Musk, in particular, is seen as a major contributor not for business interests but for personal political reasons. In addition, Musk’s use of the X platform to promote his political views highlights the difference between him and other tech leaders like Mark Zuckerberg, who are primarily focused on growing their businesses. Musk has used X to convey his political views and influence the election, by determining what content is acceptable and who can participate in discussions on the platform. However, not all tech billionaires are on Trump’s side. Shark Tank host and celebrity investor Mark Cuban has been an active supporter of Harris. He has participated in policy discussions with Harris’s campaign and praised her stance on raising the capital gains tax to 28% for wealthy investors. Cuban and a group of more than 100 venture capitalists have also publicly endorsed Harris, highlighting technological progress and entrepreneurship as key values in her policies. It is clear that big tech companies and billionaires are both playing a major role in the 2024 US presidential election. But the clear divide between Harris and Trump supporters reflects more than just their personal and political views; it also demonstrates the enormous influence of finance in advancing political agendas. Whoever wins, support from tech giants and billionaires will certainly continue to shape the US political landscape.

Baotintuc.vn

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/the-gioi/cac-tap-doan-cong-nghe-lon-va-ty-phu-co-quan-diem-the-nao-ve-ong-trump-va-ba-harris-20240923233502531.htm