Ben Horowitz says he’ll donate to Kamala Harris in any case

“As I discussed earlier than, Felicia and I’ve recognized Vice President Harris for over 10 years and she or he has been an important good friend to each of us throughout that point,” Horowitz wrote in an e-mail to his enterprise capital agency obtained by Axios. “On account of our friendship, Felicia and I shall be making a big donation to entities who assist the Harris Walz marketing campaign.”

I… pay attention. Two issues. First, one of the crucial hanging issues in regards to the podcast Horowitz made along with his a16z co-founder Marc Andreessen was how centered each males had been on who’d take their conferences. Their political commitments in lots of respects boiled right down to who would spend face time with them. Close to the top of the podcast, Horowitz instructed what was (I believe?) purported to be a heartwarming story about hanging out with Trump’s grandkids — and the way his response to listening to in regards to the assassination try on Trump was “Oh my god, Grandpa simply acquired shot.”

So you understand, the entire thing the place Harris has been “an important good friend” to each Horowitz and his spouse checks out as a political place for him. In some respects, I get it. I too wish to see my associates succeed!

However second, that essential Trump endorsement was made earlier than Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race in favor of Harris, and earlier than the monumental outpouring of assist for the brand new Democratic candidate. That meant a16z had already sacrificed any leverage it might need with a Harris administration — and a candidate who made Trump seem like much less of a certain winner. Within the case of a Harris win, these boys had been a whole 4 years with out necessary conferences, and we already know they view that as a dreadful tragedy for the whole nation.

So as to regain any chance of leverage in a probably Democrat-led authorities, somebody was going to need to eat humble pie, and it certain as shit wasn’t going to be Andreessen. Horowitz, whose assist for Trump was termed a “Maga U-turn” by The San Francisco Commonplace, has a historical past of donating to progressive causes; Harris, then a senator, was even a visitor at a Horowitz yard barbecue in 2018.

“I’m simply questioning what they’re gonna do when Kamala wins,” one founder instructed The San Francisco Commonplace of the a16z Trump endorsement. “Like, how do you stroll that again?”

Nicely, I assume we all know now. Horowitz’s e-mail says that he’s had a number of conversations with Harris and her group — essential to notice right here that he acquired to the candidate herself, on condition that entry is seemingly one in all Horowtiz’s fundamental political considerations. And so whereas Horowitz nonetheless thinks President Joe Biden is no-good and really unhealthy, he’s “inspired by my perception” in Harris to do good for tech, even supposing she has not but staked out any coverage positions.

Harris has kind of made overtures on what Horowitz termed “in all probability essentially the most emotional subject” within the election: crypto. One among her marketing campaign aides has stated, “She’s going to assist insurance policies that be sure that rising applied sciences and that kind of business can proceed to develop,” in response to a query about crypto.