Outspoken Trump supporter and Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel is reportedly considering a 2018 bid for California governor. While Politico reports close Thiel friends are skeptical, the deeply-private entrepreneur's rare interview with the New York Times’ Maureen Dowd raised eyebrows and Thiel has conspicuously yet to rule out a bid.
As Politico reports, Thiel, who co-founded PayPal and was an early investor in Facebook, has been discussing a prospective bid with a small circle of advisers, including Rob Morrow, who has emerged as his political consigliere.
Those who have been in touch with the 49-year-old entrepreneur are skeptical that he’ll enter the race. He is a deeply private figure, and California is unfriendly territory for a Republican – particularly a pro-Trump one. The president-elect won just over 30 percent of the vote there.
But they add that Thiel has conspicuously yet to rule out a bid and that those around him continue to discuss it.
Adding fuel to the speculation: Thiel raised eyebrows this week when he granted a rare interview to the New York Times’ Maureen Dowd. In the interview, he outlined his political worldview and explained his support for Trump.
At one point, Thiel said, perhaps jokingly, that he’d be “fine” with California seceding. “I think it would be good for California, good for the rest of the country. It would help Mr. Trump’s re-election campaign,” he added.
Thiel said that Silicon Valley is "hyper-politically correct about sex" simply because "people there just don't have that much sex."
“On the one hand, the tape was clearly offensive and inappropriate. At the same time, I worry there’s a part of Silicon Valley that is hyper-politically correct about sex. One of my friends has a theory that the rest of the country tolerates Silicon Valley because people there just don’t have that much sex. They’re not having that much fun.”
On reconciling being gay with the perception that Trump's administration will pursue an anti-LGBT agenda:
“You know, maybe I should be worried but I’m not that worried about it. I don’t know. People know too many gay people. There are just all these ways I think stuff has just shifted. For speaking at the Republican convention, I got attacked way more by liberal gay people than by conservative Christian people.
On the concerns that Trump might provoke a war with his Twitter account:
“A Twitter war is not a real war."
On whether Russia is behind the hacks on the Democratic National Committee:
“There’s a strong circumstantial case that Russia did this thing. On the other hand, I was totally convinced that there were W.M.D.s in Iraq in 2002, 2003.”
On Twitter's role in the election:
“I think the crazy thing is, at a place like Twitter, they were all working for Trump this whole year even though they thought they were working for Sanders.”
On Hillary Clinton's weakness:
"“If you’re too optimistic, it sounds like you’re out of touch. The Republicans needed a far more pessimistic candidate. Somehow, what was unusual about Trump is, he was very pessimistic but it still had an energizing aspect to it.”
On whether or not he'll regret his role in Trump's election:
“I always have very low expectations, so I’m rarely disappointed,” he says.
Finally, he confirmed there will be no slot for him in the Trump administration:
"I want to stay involved in Silicon Valley and help Mr. Trump as I can without a full-time position."
* * *
As Politico concludes, Thiel, who is worth an estimated $2.7 billion, would fill an important need: The ability to self-fund. Waging a gubernatorial bid in California, where campaigns are famously expensive, could cost over $100 million.
He isn’t the only billionaire who may run. Environmentalist Tom Steyer, a prolific giver to Democratic causes, is also seen as a possible contender.
With Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown term-limited, several high-profile Democrats including former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, and state Treasurer John Chiang have already launched campaigns.
One hurdle for Thiel might be his past support for Newsom. In July 2015, according to California election records, he contributed over $56,000 to Newsom’s 2018 campaign.
Neither Thiel nor a representative responded requests for comment.
The post Peter Thiel May Run For California Governor In 2018 appeared first on crude-oil.top.