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In a pointed opinion piece published by the Financial Times on Monday, Michael Moritz, the legendary venture capitalist and former partner at Sequoia Capital, has criticized prominent tech industry figures who are backing Donald Trump for the 2024 presidential election.
Moritz, who has a storied career including early investments in Google, PayPal, and LinkedIn, described Trump’s Silicon Valley supporters as misguided. He questioned why successful tech entrepreneurs and investors are willing to overlook Trump’s recent criminal conviction, which has been dismissed by his allies as a politically motivated attack. Trump was convicted earlier this year on 34 felony counts in New York State court, a verdict he plans to appeal.
Moritz expressed skepticism about the loyalty of tech leaders supporting Trump, arguing that they would likely not tolerate him as a partner in their investment ventures. He criticized their willingness to dismiss serious legal issues and cautioned against the dangers of backing authoritarian figures.
“Why are so many intelligent and successful people willing to ignore these issues?” Moritz wrote. “I doubt any of them would want him as part of an investment syndicate they organized.”
High-profile tech figures such as Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz of Andreessen Horowitz, Elon Musk, and venture capitalists David Sacks, Joe Lonsdale, and Doug Leone have publicly supported Trump. Moritz, who stepped down from Sequoia Capital last year, believes Trump will not gain substantial traction in Silicon Valley, which has traditionally shown weak support for him.
In contrast, many in the tech industry are backing Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden. More than 100 venture capitalists recently pledged support to Harris, and over 700 individuals have signed the “VCs for Kamala” pledge.
Moritz, now a senior advisor at Sequoia’s wealth management arm, has used his significant fortune for philanthropic efforts and political donations. Earlier this year, he contributed $4.8 million to American Bridge 21st Century, a group planning a major anti-Trump ad campaign. He has also supported the Lincoln Project, an organization critical of Trump.
In his op-ed, Moritz warned that Trump’s supporters in tech are making a grave error, akin to historical mistakes made by those backing authoritarian leaders. He emphasized that many wealthy backers believe they can control or influence Trump, a notion he finds dangerously naive.
“Powerful people backing authoritarians often delude themselves into thinking they can control or temper their actions,” Moritz wrote. “History shows that this is rarely the case.”