Donald Trump’s Budding Bromance with Tech Moguls

David Sacks, the tech investor, threw a fund-raiser for Donald Trump in deep-blue San Francisco on Thursday.Credit…Peter DaSilva for The New York Times

Trump’s techie friends

Last week, Donald Trump became the first former U.S. president to be convicted of a felony. Thursday night, he was feted at a fund-raiser in San Francisco hosted by David Sacks, the tech investor, that pulled in more than $12 million.

But even as Trump is making new friends in Silicon Valley — few tech moguls backed him publicly in 2016 — the LinkedIn co-founder and Democratic donor Reid Hoffman has issued a blunt warning about Trump 2.0.

This was Trump’s first fund-raiser since being found guilty. Among the attendees: Chamath Palihapitiya, Sacks’ co-host of the “All In” podcast and former Democratic donor; Jacob Helberg, an adviser at Palantir; and crypto entrepreneurs, including the Winklevoss twins.

Also there: Senator J.D. Vance, Republican of Ohio and former venture capitalist seen as a potential Trump running mate, who connected Trump with Sacks, writes the Times’s Theodore Schleifer.

Sacks gave his case for backing Trump. Top of the list: the economy. The U.S. is performing far better than its peers, but he blames President Biden for sticky inflation, weak growth and rising debt (though Trump too added trillions to the national debt).

But Biden has huge support in Silicon Valley. The president has raised millions from tech industry leaders this election cycle. Last month, he attended a fund-raising event hosted by Vinod Khosla, the venture capital investor, and Marissa Mayer, the former Yahoo C.E.O., and Silicon Valley includes some of his biggest business allies.