Economist Paul Krugman: 'Tech bros' could have 'huge effects' on 2024 election

27 September 2024

In the 2024 presidential race, some prominent supporters of GOP nominee Donald Trump have a strong Silicon Valley connection, including billionaire megadonor Peter Thiel, X CEO Elon Musk and Trump's running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio). MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, a Never Trump conservative and former Republican congressman, has brutally mocked Vance for trying to project a blue-collar Rust Belt image when his resume includes an Ivy League education and making a fortune in the Silicon Valley tech sector.

Liberal economist Paul Krugman, in his September 26 column for the New York Times, examines the impact that "tech bros" might have on the 2024 election.

"Whatever their motivations," Krugman argues, "political spending by tech bros could have huge effects on U.S. politics.… In short, the tech bro style in American politics has emerged as a major force — one that, in my view, is pushing our democracy closer to catastrophe."

Krugman is especially critical of Vance, Musk and Thiel.

"How did Vance get to where he is?" Krugman writes. "He's a remarkable campaigner — remarkable, that is, in the sense that he seems incredibly bad at it. I won't rehash the 'cat ladies' contretemps except to say that it contributed to what will probably go down as one of the worst running-mate rollouts of all time. So who picked this guy?"

The Times columnist continues, "The answer, it appears to me, is a handful of tech moguls led by the billionaire Peter Thiel, who in effect bought Vance a Senate seat by overwhelming his rivals with a flood of cash. And in so doing, they set someone who has, in my view, morphed into an ugly extremist on a path that could quite possibly put him a heartbeat away from the presidency."

Krugman points out that Vance "took the lead in spreading" a bogus conspiracy theory "about Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, stealing and eating neighbors' pets."

The economist notes, however, that most politically minded "tech bros" are not far-right MAGA ideologues.

"Musk's right-wing turn isn't universal or even typical: Reporting suggests that even with the rightward turn of several boldface names, Silicon Valley remains heavily Democratic," Krugman observes. "Political contributions from the internet industry, in particular, remain strongly tilted toward Democrats. But right-wing tech bros are exerting a significant and, I'd argue, malign influence on the political landscape."

Paul Krugman's full New York Times column is available at this link (subscription required).

From Your Site Articles