Ben Horowitz says he’ll donate to Kamala Harris after all

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

I… hear. Two issues. First, probably the most placing 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 all the way down to who would spend face time with them. Close to the tip of the podcast, Horowitz informed what was (I feel?) presupposed 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 obtained shot.”

So, , the entire thing the place Harris has been “an amazing 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 pals 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 enormous outpouring of support 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 appear to be much less of a certain winner. Within the case of a Harris win, these boys had been taking a look at a complete 4 years with out essential conferences, and we already know they view that as a dreadful tragedy for the whole nation.

As a way to regain any risk 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 support for Trump was termed a “Maga U-turn” by The San Francisco Customary, 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 informed The San Francisco Customary of the a16z Trump endorsement. “Like, how do you stroll that again?”

Properly, 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 obtained to the candidate herself, on condition that entry is seemingly one in all Horowitz’s foremost political considerations. And so whereas Horowitz nonetheless thinks President Joe Biden is no-good and really dangerous, he’s “inspired by my perception” in Harris to do good for tech, even if she has not but staked out any coverage positions.

Harris has sort of made overtures on what Horowitz termed “most likely essentially the most emotional subject” within the election: crypto. One in all her marketing campaign aides has mentioned, “She’s going to help insurance policies that be certain that rising applied sciences and that type of business can proceed to develop,” in response to a question about crypto.