Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) said in an interview that he urged his former Silicon Valley boss, billionaire Peter Thiel, to “get off the sidelines” and support former President Donald Trump's run for the White House.
The senator, who became President Trump's running mate in July, Financial Times In the interview, he said he would continue to pressure Silicon Valley billionaires to reverse their decision to stay out of the 2024 presidential race and boost funding for Republican candidates.
“I'm going to keep talking to Peter and trying to convince him. He's obviously a little tired of politics, but if we lose and Kamala Harris becomes president, he's going to be really tired of politics,” Vance said in the interview published Thursday.
“He's a fundamentally conservative guy, and I think he needs to come off the sidelines and support his candidate,” he added.
Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal, donated $1.25 million to help Trump win the 2016 presidential election. The co-founder of data analytics company Palantir also donated $15 million to support Vance's Senate bid.
Last November, Thiel I'm not going to give you money Thiel had pledged to vote for a Republican politician in 2024, but later added that “I could always change my mind.” In late June, Thiel said he would not give money to super PACs supporting Trump, but would vote for the Republican candidate.
Vance's attempt to woo Thiel was a part of Vice President Harris' campaign. said The group has raised $540 million since she began her presidential bid, including $82 million during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Vance worked at a venture capital firm co-founded by Thiel after the two met at Yale Law School in 2011.
The Hill has reached out to Thiel's representatives for comment.
