Reid Hoffman Calls on Tech Leaders to Stand Firm Against Trump's Policies
Billionaire tech entrepreneur Reid Hoffman is actively encouraging his peers in Silicon Valley to denounce not only the recent tragic events involving Border Patrol agents but also to stop appeasing President Trump. In his posts and an opinion piece for The San Francisco Standard, Hoffman emphasizes: “Silicon Valley cannot yield to Trump. Hoping for the crisis to vanish without action is not a strategy; it invites Trump to undermine our business and security interests.”
Prominent figures like VC Vinod Khosla have termed the current administration as “conscious-less.” Additionally, tech leaders such as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei have voiced their concerns about these incidents, albeit mostly in private communications. Hoffman, however, argues that tech leaders wield significant power, and passivity is a deliberate choice, not neutrality.
Despite the dependence on federal contracts and regulations, Hoffman is rallying tech professionals to action. A petition has emerged, urging CEOs to confront the White House, demand ICE's withdrawal from U.S. cities, and terminate contracts with ICE.
While certain tech figures, including Elon Musk and Keith Rabois, continue to support Trump, others, like Tim Cook, express mixed sentiments. Cook, for instance, expressed heartbreak over the incidents yet proceeded to attend a private event with Melania Trump.
