Voters Backed Donald Trump Because He ‘Just Got It,’ Says Investor Peter Thiel(wsj.com)
wsj.com
Voters Backed Donald Trump Because He ‘Just Got It,’ Says Investor Peter Thiel
http://www.wsj.com/articles/voters-backed-donald-trump-because-he-just-got-it-says-investor-peter-thiel-1478800508
75 comments
I'm perplexed as to why Thiel backed Trump when Thiel is gay, and Trump/Pence seem to want to roll back a lot of hard fought rights won by the homosexual community.
"Trump/Pence seem to want to roll back a lot of hard fought rights won by the homosexual community"
I don't think there is much evidence for that. President Obama publicly stated his opposition to same sex marriage when he was running for president in 2008. The only reason it ended up being legalized nationwide was because of a supreme court case brought by a bunch of LGBT Republicans.
On that issue Trump has said, "The Supreme Court has issued an opinion on this. Same-sex marriage is an issue that should have been decided by the states." In other words he probably thinks same sex marriage is fine but didn't want to say so because he knows it's a polarizing issue. That's a more progressive position than _Obama_ took in 08.
I don't think there is much evidence for that. President Obama publicly stated his opposition to same sex marriage when he was running for president in 2008. The only reason it ended up being legalized nationwide was because of a supreme court case brought by a bunch of LGBT Republicans.
On that issue Trump has said, "The Supreme Court has issued an opinion on this. Same-sex marriage is an issue that should have been decided by the states." In other words he probably thinks same sex marriage is fine but didn't want to say so because he knows it's a polarizing issue. That's a more progressive position than _Obama_ took in 08.
I suspect you're right on Trump - he probably doesn't care much about gay marriage either way.
There's plenty of evidence Pence will be an issue, though.
http://time.com/4406337/mike-pence-gay-rights-lgbt-religious...
http://www.teenvogue.com/story/mike-pence-record-reproductiv...
There's plenty of evidence Pence will be an issue, though.
http://time.com/4406337/mike-pence-gay-rights-lgbt-religious...
http://www.teenvogue.com/story/mike-pence-record-reproductiv...
True, Pence isn't a same-sex marriage supporter but he is also the Vice President. A position often described as having little to no power or authority.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/07/politics/john-kasich-donald-tr...
> Kasich told CNN's Jake Tapper that he didn't receive a call himself. But he said one of his aides confirmed to him a New York Times report last month saying Donald Trump Jr. tried to entice Kasich with a position as the most powerful vice president in history -- putting him in charge of all domestic and foreign policy -- was accurate.
> Kasich told CNN's Jake Tapper that he didn't receive a call himself. But he said one of his aides confirmed to him a New York Times report last month saying Donald Trump Jr. tried to entice Kasich with a position as the most powerful vice president in history -- putting him in charge of all domestic and foreign policy -- was accurate.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mike-pence-role-model-vice-pr...
Not to mention he (Pence) has stated Dick Chaney was his role model for being a Vice President.
Not to mention he (Pence) has stated Dick Chaney was his role model for being a Vice President.
From the horses mouth...
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/donald-trump-same-sex-...
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/donald-trump-same-sex-...
Trump is planning to appoint Supreme Court justices to overturn the same sex marriage ruling. He said this in a January interview on Fox.
Even assuming he does appoint such a judge. The open seat right now was held by Antonin Scalia who was on the dissenting side of the Obergefell v. Hodges case. So it wouldn't changed the out come for that issue on the court.
Even if he got the opportunity to appoint a judge to replace one of the democratic appointments it would be very unlikely that the same sex marriage decision would ever be over turned. Roe v. Wade wasn't over turned despite the supreme court having a majority of Republican appointees for a long period between the original decision and present day.
Is Trump indifferent to LGBT issues? probably. But I just don't see much factual basis for the hysteria surrounding his election. If you believe the news, people are acting like he is going to round them up and put them in concentration camps or something. It just isn't reality.
Even if he got the opportunity to appoint a judge to replace one of the democratic appointments it would be very unlikely that the same sex marriage decision would ever be over turned. Roe v. Wade wasn't over turned despite the supreme court having a majority of Republican appointees for a long period between the original decision and present day.
Is Trump indifferent to LGBT issues? probably. But I just don't see much factual basis for the hysteria surrounding his election. If you believe the news, people are acting like he is going to round them up and put them in concentration camps or something. It just isn't reality.
Because rich people live a life so different than the average person you cannot possibly guess his motivations.
I won't claim to know why, but when we discriminate in this country, you probably put race at the top. But we discriminate in this order:
1. Wealth (that is, lack of)
2. Education
3. Race
4. Gender
5. Other stuff (appearance, sexual identity, etc)
The URM often say that they are doing to those outside the community. You don't complain, unless you wnat to be branded a problem, a complainer, a whiner.
True, but that's true in any organization and it's independent of any social class. Play along or you probably won't be a member much longer.
Ben Carson will also continue to do just fine.
> I'm guessing this because I work with a bunch of black physicians; they say they're all doing just fine.
What they say and what they feel may not be the same thing.
What they say and what they feel may not be the same thing.
Well they "seem" to be doing fine as well, so we're getting into some pretty dark territory (is that racist imagery?) to now imagine that they're suffering immensely inside and just putting on a painful show. One of them just won a "most eligible bachelor" competition in our predominantly-white city last year. Oh and I'm a hispanic physician (yes, we exist!), and I'm also doing great. No, I didn't vote for Trump.
I have to disagree with the list. How we discriminate can't be put in a list because it is different for different issues. For one example, consider that the legal system discriminate far more on gender than race. In some areas your list is close to accurate (I would definitely put mental health much higher), but in general a list is a poor data structure to represent how discrimination occurs. It also ignores interactions between groups.
That's a fair point, and your remark about mental health is true (it might even be number one on this oversimplified list). I wasn't trying to be authoritative on the subject or list, but to present a general idea about who, practically-speaking, feels disenfranchised. Thiel, even if he was a fat, ugly, uneducated, transgendered black person, would still be one of the most advantaged people in the world.
[Disclaimer: I didn't vote]
Why do you think Trump's particularly anti-gay? Here he is waiving around a rainbow flag (in a positive sense) at a rally just a couple of weeks ago: http://www.advocate.com/2016/10/31/donald-trump-waves-lgbt-r...
Why do you think Trump's particularly anti-gay? Here he is waiving around a rainbow flag (in a positive sense) at a rally just a couple of weeks ago: http://www.advocate.com/2016/10/31/donald-trump-waves-lgbt-r...
This is a good example of people believing msm propaganda and not thinking themselves.
Trump has been advocate for gays from the 80's and supporting lgbt has been big part of his campaign.
Trump has been advocate for gays from the 80's and supporting lgbt has been big part of his campaign.
Then why did he pick Pence - a actively virulent homophobe - as his VP?
Pence supports homosexual "cure therapy". This is barbaric, and quite frankly utterly revolting thing to have a VP support in the 21st century.
Because he appointed Pence who believes in gay conversion therapy. And because his platform contains various mentions of rolling back LGBT rights.
A lot of the problems that an ordinary person would suffer cease to be an issue when you're worth $2.7B. I suspect that for Thiel, the loss of hard fought rights will not impact him very much personally. Marriage for example is not just symbolic, it also confers rights to a partner's pension contributions, their assets if they happen to die intestate etc. Thiel may be able to fill many of these gaps with expensive legal arrangements that others can't afford.
Just like Trump, he's too rich to care for or being able to understand any average person's concerns and worries about life, and this includes issues that have to do with sexual orientation like anything else.
It doesn't even have to be lack of empathy, it's just an complete lack of the experiences that people have in life who have to worry about paychecks, monthly bills, mortgage, insurance and education for the family, healthcare expenditures, etc. And no, no theoretical knowledge or education can replace actual experience, knowing the physics of how bikes work is not the same as knowing how to ride a bike.
People like Trump and Thiel are ignorants not in the pejorative but in the literal sense of the word.
It doesn't even have to be lack of empathy, it's just an complete lack of the experiences that people have in life who have to worry about paychecks, monthly bills, mortgage, insurance and education for the family, healthcare expenditures, etc. And no, no theoretical knowledge or education can replace actual experience, knowing the physics of how bikes work is not the same as knowing how to ride a bike.
People like Trump and Thiel are ignorants not in the pejorative but in the literal sense of the word.
People vote on more than one issue. No candidate is perfect, and it just so happens we ended up with two this time that were both pretty bad. An NPR podcast noted that some polls have found that ~40% of registered democrats polled voted for Trump. For those people at least, renegotiating NAFTA or blocking the TPP was more important than Trumps vulgarities or letting states decide on other social issues.
At this point, I would rather to not see anything else about Trump on HN until something actually happens. But here I am, sucked in to comment...
At this point, I would rather to not see anything else about Trump on HN until something actually happens. But here I am, sucked in to comment...
> An NPR podcast noted that some polls have found that ~40% of registered democrats polled voted for Trump.
No it didn't, and they didn't.
No it didn't, and they didn't.
http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/11/10/501...
Of Brigade's verified voters, 40 percent of registered Democrats pledged to vote for Trump.
I guess we can argue about wording or say the data is wrong, but this is what NPR said this morning.
Of Brigade's verified voters, 40 percent of registered Democrats pledged to vote for Trump.
I guess we can argue about wording or say the data is wrong, but this is what NPR said this morning.
>Of Brigade's verified voters
Brigade is a billionaire's vanity project. It's userbase isn't representative of anything, and it's not a 'poll'.
Brigade is a billionaire's vanity project. It's userbase isn't representative of anything, and it's not a 'poll'.
Peter already explained himself.
Try listening to what he said at the convention. He has weighted America's future far more heavily than which bathroom people can use. At the same time, he was the first openly gay person to speak at the RNC. He's helping to roll the Republican party forward socially.
Try listening to what he said at the convention. He has weighted America's future far more heavily than which bathroom people can use. At the same time, he was the first openly gay person to speak at the RNC. He's helping to roll the Republican party forward socially.
trump didn't exactly campaign on rolling back gay rights, most americans are pretty solidly in favor of it at this point. as for why -- too early to say, probably.
It's easy to want society to collapse when you're not a part of it.
Thiel can go get married in New Zealand if it gets bad enough in America. He simply does not care about the rest of us.
don't forget to use the HN "web" link in the second line if you hit the paywall
What's the HN web link? I get snagged on this all the time and just search through google to bypass but now I feel like I'm doing something the hard way
At right of "X minutes ago". It actually just performs a google search.
Ctrl-F, "web", click
I'm still getting a paywall through the web link. Not here http://archive.is/NzUxQ.
A better idea might be to stop visiting News Corp. sites at all.
peter, history is not going to remember you kindly.
It might remember little things like this:
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert...
He donated $300k to the "Yes on 64" campaign in California.
He donated $300k to the "Yes on 64" campaign in California.
but it will remember him.
It won't even take long, I reckon.
What about asking him about all the "truth-less" stuff his propagandist in chief Bannon out of Breitbart (future Chief of Staff) has pushed for years? The Birther BS? How the extreme supremacist elements backing the campaign will be kept at bay; how basic rights will be maintained.
I guess he figures Palantir can make a bunch of money tracking down people who fit into non-billionaire-white-male (gay or not) categories for [...insert some action....] to "make America great".
I guess he figures Palantir can make a bunch of money tracking down people who fit into non-billionaire-white-male (gay or not) categories for [...insert some action....] to "make America great".
For everyone suggesting Thiel, a gay man with outspoken libertarian views, donated $1.25m as part of some pay-to-play scheme, let's do a little math...
He is worth $2.7b last I checked.
1250000/2700000000 = 0.00046296296
Suppose someone with a net worth of $1m donated $500... That would be a greater fraction of net worth donated. I know a lot of people who donated above that ratio.
I propose an alternative theory: Thiel is a true believer, much like many of you.
He is worth $2.7b last I checked.
1250000/2700000000 = 0.00046296296
Suppose someone with a net worth of $1m donated $500... That would be a greater fraction of net worth donated. I know a lot of people who donated above that ratio.
I propose an alternative theory: Thiel is a true believer, much like many of you.
Thiel has described himself as a Libertarian, but Palantir is proof that he is in fact an advocate of the surveillance state.
I'm far more on your side when it comes to surveillance, but I don't accept "government contracts" as a motivator. I think you're being reductionist and neglecting the fact that technology has a place in stopping terror and crime in general... We just don't know where to draw the line yet.
It's like you live in this world where greed for money and power don't exist. What good has Thiel done to be able to bypass all resonable criticism of people in power?
It's like you live in this world where the only beliefs that matter are your own and nobody else can believe something contrary and be genuine.
FYI 9/10 top defense manufacturers in the world donated to HRC. What the fuck do you think they expected in return? Peter donated as an individual and defended his stance publicly.
FYI 9/10 top defense manufacturers in the world donated to HRC. What the fuck do you think they expected in return? Peter donated as an individual and defended his stance publicly.
I apologize for the tone of my previous comment. It was unnecessarily harsh and confrontational. I have serious doubts about Trump's and Thiel's underlying motives but I shouldn't have insulted you like that. Sorry.
After reading his book, I think Thiel did what everyone else did not. He supported the underdog, thus he could pay almost nothing for a ticket that had %40 odds of winning. His win is a x1000 return. He now gets to rub elbows with more clients: nsa,fbi,cia,epa,etc and force feed palantir more contracts.
I don't think Thiel loves Trump, he is just a psychopath that can play chess at a higher level.
I don't think Thiel loves Trump, he is just a psychopath that can play chess at a higher level.
The value of a donation isn't in the giver's percentage of net worth. He knew exactly how valuable a $1M cheque is, especially when everyone else is supporting the other side.
This is a clear case of pay-to-play. It just happened to be cheap because of the candidate.
This is a clear case of pay-to-play. It just happened to be cheap because of the candidate.
1. 10% tax holiday
2. 15% corporate tax
3. 25% personal top rate
best 1.2 mil ever spent Hell, the 60m trump invested was cheap. he cut out the middle man.
best 1.2 mil ever spent Hell, the 60m trump invested was cheap. he cut out the middle man.
$500 cash can be a lot of cash if your networth is $1mm, a lot of that $1mm is likely illiquid.
I know a lot of the people on the Hillary campaign who donated over $100 and have negative net worth.
Good read, he appears quite sane. In a nutshell, he has hope we do only know Trump on steroids, and he might not be a likable person, but in the end Trump has the necessary discomfort with the status quo to move the economy ahead - not the perfect candidate, but rather the better alternative at this moment in time.
Unfortunately Trump's cabinet appointments have already proven him wrong. Carson, Palin, the leading anti-global warming crazy for head of the EPA...
People voted for Trump for 2 reasons, they were tired of business-as-usual from the out of touch elites and they saw the other candidate(Clinton) as having no redeeming value.
"You may fight ISIS, but if that’s the only thing we do, defeating ISIS seems like a manageable goal."
Oh man. This is the Middle East. You can never just do one thing and imagine it won't affect everything else. "We'll just topple Saddam and that's the only thing we do."
"Manageable goal" will have the same ring as "Mission accomplished" in a couple of years.
It's strange how Thiel is so worried about the bubble economy, yet Trump is the quintessential face of the bubble since early 1980s. Manhattan real estate, casinos, reality TV -- these are all "boom or bust" businesses.
Oh man. This is the Middle East. You can never just do one thing and imagine it won't affect everything else. "We'll just topple Saddam and that's the only thing we do."
"Manageable goal" will have the same ring as "Mission accomplished" in a couple of years.
It's strange how Thiel is so worried about the bubble economy, yet Trump is the quintessential face of the bubble since early 1980s. Manhattan real estate, casinos, reality TV -- these are all "boom or bust" businesses.
Political polarization has been a topic among moral psychologists like Dr. Jonathan Haidt. I recommend watching this talk to understand the political discourse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAE-gxKs6gM