President Donald J. Trump is introduced on stage Friday, April 26, 2019, at the National Rifle Association annual convention in Indianapolis, Ind. (Official White House Photo by Tia Dufour)
Many Americans point the finger of blame for Trump’s 2020 defeat at Mark Zuckerberg and his “Zuckerbucks” that fed Democrats’ ballot initiatives in battleground states. Zuckerberg was one of the many Silicon Valley kingpins who didn’t dare to support Trump, at risk of being ostracized from society. Now, notes Yascha Mounk in The Spectator, there has been a “vibe shift,” and supporting Trump has become “more socially acceptable than before — in some elite circles, perhaps even a little cool.” From Silicon Valley to the streets, Trump is gaining ground. Mounk writes:
Take Silicon Valley. The biggest tech entrepreneurs and the hordes of programmers and HR professionals at large firms like Google and Meta were once staunchly progressive. Yet this year, a growing number of the tech world’s rich and famous, from Elon Musk to David Sacks, the founder of a large venture capital firm in Silicon Valley, are endorsing Trump. Even longtime Democrats are suddenly on the fence; Mark Zuckerberg said he wouldn’t endorse either candidate in a recent interview, and called Trump’s reaction to the assassination attempt “one of the most badass things I’ve seen in my life.”
The transformation on Wall Street may be just as consequential. Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan, for example, has been outspoken in his criticisms of Trump in the past; this year, he used the annual global elite gathering at Davos to signal he’d changed his mind and intended to support Trump’s re-election bid. Dimon isn’t alone. There’s also Bill Ackman, a Democratic donor and notable hedge-fund manager. This year, he picked a series of fights with university presidents who, in his estimation, weren’t sufficiently protective of Jewish students on campuses; a few weeks ago, he announced he’s supporting Trump.
Even some celebrities from traditionally left-leaning fields are donning proverbial — or literal — MAGA hats. 50 Cent, the New York rapper, recently said “many black men identify with Trump.” After Trump’s attempted assassination, he tweeted a picture of one of his albums, featuring lyrics about being shot, with Trump’s face replacing his own. Others who’ve publicly embraced Trump include the influencer Amber Rose and singer Azealia Banks.
The vibe shift goes beyond America’s wealthy, extending to many groups once viewed as solidly Democrat. As polls show, non-white voters, especially young black and Latino men, have rapidly moved towards the Republicans. And they’re increasingly vocal in their support. Some of the most fulsome arguments I’ve heard for Trump recently came from a Puerto Rican cleaner and a Mexican-American Uber driver.
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