LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman reportedly donated $7 million to Vice President Kamala Harris and then called for the removal of Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan shortly after.
Hoffman, who sparked controversy by saying he hoped Donald Trump would become a “real martyr” just days before the July 13 assassination attempt on the former president, argued that the presumptive Democratic nominee is “much more pro-business” than Trump.
“Trump wants anti-business tariffs,” Hoffman told CNN on Wednesday.[That] This is a really strange election.”
The tech billionaire also took aim at Khan, a progressive FTC Chairman who has targeted big tech companies for alleged anti-competitive behavior.
Amazon, Facebook parent Meta, Alphabet Inc’s Google and Apple are all facing increased scrutiny from the Biden administration.
Hoffman accused Khan of “waging war on American business” and said he hoped Harris would replace him if she won the presidential election in November.
Hoffman said he supports Harris despite her intention to raise corporate tax rates and the Biden administration’s decision to retain some of Trump’s tariffs.
“I think what’s most important to business is national stability, unity and the rule of law,” Hoffman told CNN.
“The difference between 2% or 3% in corporate tax is much less significant.”
“Chairman Khan is honored to serve in the Biden-Harris Administration, where he has protected consumers, workers and entrepreneurs from illegal and corporate misconduct,” FTC spokesman Douglas Faller said in a statement.
“From banning junk fees and non-compete agreements to lowering the prices of essential items like groceries, gasoline and health care, Chairman Khan has been a leader in the Biden-Harris campaign’s fight to support working families across the country.”
The Post has reached out to Hoffman and Harris for comment.
Ms Harris has become the Democratic Party’s standard-bearer after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race with less than four months to go until Election Day.
The surprising decision came after Democratic donors and party leaders were left agonizing over Biden’s debate gaffes that called into question his intellectual acuity.
Earlier this week, CNBC’s Jim Cramer predicted that if Harris wins the White House, she would fire Khan and Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Cantor, who heads the Justice Department’s antitrust division.
Hoffman, 56, is a frequent donor to Democratic dark money groups, including the Hopewell Fund, a nonprofit managed by Arabella Advisors that has been described as a “secretive dark money conglomerate.”
Arabella Advisors spent more than $1 billion helping propel Biden to the White House in 2020.
The day after the assassination attempt on President Trump, Hoffman sought to correct inflammatory comments he made last week at Allen & Company’s Sun Valley conference.
Hoffman said he and fellow tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel had “moral issues” – namely Thiel’s support for Trump, According to PacNews.
Thiel, who was in the audience during the panel, spoke out, sarcastically thanking Hoffman for funding the lawsuit against Trump, which he said had turned the 45th president into a “martyr.”
“Yes, I wish he had been a real martyr,” Hoffman reportedly replied.
Hoffman is no stranger to controversy.
He has had to deny any links to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
In 2014, Hoffman made one visit to Epstein’s Caribbean villa in Little St. James, now known as “Pedophile Island,” where Epstein and his girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, allegedly abused underage girls. The Wall Street Journal report.
He said he had been trying to convince Epstein to donate to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Epstein died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
