How Peter Thiel Mentored JD Vance and Turned Silicon Valley Towards Trumpism 

I have black women friends who are tech professionals. The things that were said to them over the course of their careers absolutely shocked me. And were absolutely illegal. One of them was fired from a startup because she "didn't look like everybody else here."

The irony. People like Thiel hate democracy but made all of their money in America. These tech billionaires seem like grifters to me. Arrogant grifters.

Great reason to pass laws to remove the money from politics.

Hearing them talk about Peter Thiel and the Tech Bros, brings to mind how many of the most fervent supporters of Nazi Germany were young, college educated intellectuals.

If thiel doesn’t like democracy, let him move to Russia.

I find Peter Thiels beliefs absolutely horrifying. I will say this, I also find it frightening how many voters in this country seem to be very uneducated and have no clue how government even works. I propose that instead of ending democracy we should invest in far better public education. We should have extensive and accurate history classes and in-depth education on politics and government in addition to improvements in all other fields of study. So yeah, maybe let's not take away the rights of our people to be ruled by silicon valley tech bros and uplift and better educate people instead.

Speaking as an American woman, I find Peter Thiel to be a failure of the naturalization process and is unworthy of our grant of citizenship.

As a German I´d like to apologize for Thiel. And Trump.

As a Assistant Professor of business teaching abroad when Zero to One was the talk of the town and everybody told me this book should be taught I was taken back it is everything I thought business as an evil force. I never taught it

Thiel has money and privilege. Let’s not act like he actually has a moral compass and is not racist and as a gay white man he is an anomaly just because he can. That in itself is a privilege. But basically also has created rumble and allowing for very extreme voices of young people to say and do what they want. He is as scary as Brannon because of his wealth and the ways he can essentially buy people.

Oligarchs love Fascism.

Take Trump's pathological narcissism seriously.

Theil, like all Billionaires, has a god complex and believes rules don’t apply to him because he has such economic power. It’s why we shouldn’t allow Billionaires to exist.

One of America's most profound weaknesses is listening far too much to its richest people !! Always a bad idea if you want a sane , rational and civilised society !! let them be rich but never give them too much say !!

What you are describing is that Peter Thiel is a modern day Ayn Rand.

When Trump is gone the Heritage Foundation and friends will still be here. This country is in serious trouble.

Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all - Aristotle

Could you imagine jd vance being president? Trump is one big mac away from a heart attack.

These billionaires and the Heritage foundation acting like comic book villains

Vance was for sale and PT purchased him.

I commented on you tube not long ago “Peter Thiel bought himself a Senator, and now he wants to buy himself a Vice President”. You tube hammered me, and gave a 15 hour time out.

The arrogance, greed, and opportunism of these people (Thiel, et al.) are astounding. Thank you for sharing this.

Sociopaths do succeed. No denying that.

Being gay is not negative, being a bottom is not negative, and being a gay bottom is not negative, but as long as conservatives think this is a failing, a sin, etc, i really hope someone releases hi-def video of Theil railing Vance before early voting takes off.

Save America from Trump!!!

What I find fascinating is that people who have availed of the graciousness of the US like naturalization and education and opportunity don’t want to extend the same to others. Are we not supposed to lift people up and bring them along with us, if we have been fortunate enough to be doing well. Diversity that Thiel is not fond of, is the very reason why he is in the US. If our universities didn’t believe that race has nothing to do with smarts, then he wouldn’t be here and be with who he is with.

I'm in European tech. A lot of European tech CEO's look at people like Peter Thiel as gurus that spread the gospel of success. This conversation helped me understand some of the very Un-European dynamics (very white, very young bros, etc.) that are at play in European tech.

Separation between money and the government needs work

Divorce drumpf and jd mandell on November 5th Vote 💙🌊🇺🇸🗳💙🌊🇺🇸🗳

It’s as if Thiel used Trump as their “Useful Idiot.”

I find the reluctance to believe that these guys "really mean" what they say and write is fascinating. The way these guys (Theil and company) get the continuous benefit of the doubt is dangerous. We need to believe them and act accordingly.

No excuses can cover what this man Peter is and stands for

Vote Blue 💙 Justice matters 💙 Service matters 💙 Harris for President 💙

Thank you for this podcast subject!! Been trying to find out more on Yarvin, Thiel and Vance. Why are mainstream news programs NOT picking this up for voters?! 🤯 This ideology needs to be exposed about Trump’s campaign-Please keep on this for 🇺🇸! 🏆👏😎🙏🏻

30:00 - Nobody blinked at Thiel's nonchalant entitled misogyny? It's no laughing matter

Have we been so naïve overlooking the danger coming from silicon valley?

Did he also mentor Vance to have zero charisma?

The problem with this analysis is that it doesn't go back far enough. When it comes to considering how both Peter Thiel (56) and his old business partner Elon Musk (53) are both increasingly anti-democratic and hostile to social justice concerns, you need to go back to their younger years. Thiel was born in West Germany in 1967. His father was a chemical engineer who moved the family between Germany, South Africa, Namibia, and finally the U.S.. Musk grew up in South Africa and was educated there until he was 18. It is simply impossible to say that both Thiel and Musk were not shaped by their exposure to pro-Apartheid ideas during their time on the African continent. Musk's father was actually an anti-Apartheid politician, the father-son relationship was acrimonious and supposedly abusive. Elon himself was said to be quite nasty, as well. While this is all psycho-history, it is hard to separate a person's upbringing from the way they actually turn out. Like a lot of whites that lived through Africa's colonial era, these guys certainly see things nostalgically. Like many such people, the experience probably left them with negative feelings toward liberalism and any sort of social justice movements.

*GREED* The only word needed to describe these people. And, it's *NOT* good.

I am convinced that Thiel and Musk do not see some of us as human beings.

If you need anything to understand where Thiel is coming from all you need to know is that he's stated, publicly, that companies should strive for a monopoly. A monopoly, as you may remember, is a situation where a company has complete control of an industry and can thus set whatever price they want. Also baked into this is an effort to prevent other companies from having a chance to compete using every means available to prevent a competitor from being viable. Being able to lower the price to undercut a competitor knowing they will not have the money to cover the losses. Being able to pay a visit to important politicians in DC and at the state level to ensure that the government doesn't step in or that they do step in to undermine the competitor. Being able to limit wage and benefits for the employees by denying them an alternative place of work. Thiel knows what he's doing and he knows that what he's doing is harming the middle class and our Constitutional Republic, but it is profitable and that's all that matters.

I wish people would stop wondering whether someone’s words are just hyperbole or their belief. Believe what people say they want.

Shockingly Thiel is a New Zealand citizen and proberly Bribed our Immigration Minister to get this 🧐

I like a President that isn’t a felon,or a rapist,or a TREASONIST!!!

Billionaires are so weird. Peter Thiel looks so sweaty, clamy and slimy.

Best wishes from Germany protect your democracy! 💙💙💙❤️🗽 ⭐🇺🇸🇩🇪🇪🇺 One question: do you have hidden a cat in the plants?😜😂

UBER RICH becomes Greedy no matter what industry. I am a native Nor Cal who worked in Silicon Valley in RE. Saw the change. GREED, ARROGANCE AND ANGRY LOSERS getting power.

He is a supramicist in every way: I am a tech bro, so tech bro`s are superior to others and shouldn`t be made to follow the rules. I am a man, so women are inferior since they are different from me. I am yt and my bros are also, so that must be sth. superior because it`s how we look. It`s a god complex: "Everything should be made in my image!"

Vance is not my idea of a rising star. He is unqualified to be a VP candidate, let alone, a possible President. I feel like we are living in the Twilight Zone. I enjoyed your insightful conversation. Thank you.

SAVE AMERICA FROM THE TECH BROS!!!😮

Recall that the "demos" in democracy didn't refer to "the people" as we generally translate it, but specifically to non-elite ordinary citizens -- craftsman, farmers, workers -- giving them, rather than the aristocrats, the "kratos," i.e. power, to rule.

Nice to see how utterly fascinated these independent journalists are with their “contrarian” subjects, to the point of apologizing for their most inhumane, disconnected ideas. I’d prefer people who are both knowledgeable and skeptical, like Kara Swisher. Thiel deserves to be examined as hostile to the sort of ethically informed, collectively beneficial, and above all balanced society that defines progressivism. The comments about women alone point to Thiel’s singular and isolated orientation. Why do we hold these people up?

The politics of selfishness.

Is it just me or do more people need to listen to this? Holy cow. I had no idea.

He sees himself as a Nietzschian Übermensch. The rest of us folks are inferior. What could possibly go wrong?

People in the U.S. have a really strange admiration for billionaires.

Very good info. Thank you. But! Why would you even think Thiel was saying these things just to be provocative? He’s Not a comedian. When he says something he means it. It’s like thinking dt would eventually get presidential - Not happening. Very unfortunately the Dems did not realize how really evil the repubs could be.

Seriously, I see similar attitudes (me,me,me) in my 6 year old son. His excuse for immaturity is that he’s 6. What’s their excuse?

Why aren’t people questioning the amounts donated to these guys by teal?

It comes down to the fact that no one should be able to amass enough wealth (taken from working people through monopoly, gouging, etc) to be able to have such an outsized political influence. There's a diversity of political thought in every society, but such extremism only gets a disproportionate amount of power when they have as much money as many small countries' GDP

Thiel is the poster boy for "needs therapy."

Voting should be like taxes, required.

Trump has been saying in his gibberish rants and lies that " we have to take care of our smart people "

We're all counting on the voters, and we're counting on you Kamala and Walz 💙

This explains the JD Vance plant

I've been talking about this connection recently. Thiel said that a guy like him ought to be running things. Thiel owns Vance. Vance is potentially one heartbeat away from being president.

“Breaking the rules” is such a quaint way to put “breaking the law.”

After Sacks hosted a fundraising for Trump, Musk coming out in a big way to support him, and then JD Vance getting selected for VP, my suspicion was Thiel was playing the king maker behind the scenes. All of a sudden he was on Rogan too. This discussion kind of confirms it. Thanks for providing the details on the history and motives!!

How is it possible that Thiel's name was not mentioned once at the DNC? Thiel should be spoken about just as much as the right brings up Soros.

Peter Thiel is a huge shareholder in Facebook so there's that

When I first met libertarians in the early 80s, that fact that individual wealth and power were incompatible with democracy was obvious. At the time it seemed naive... :'(

ANOTHER REASON TO VOTE HARRIS-WALZ. VOTE BLUE ALL THE WAY 2024

Saddest thing is how they exploit people who they never want to spend a minute and those people still support them and believe them Just sad and pathetic

VOTE blue

Vote solid Blue down the ballot 💙

It's not hard to figure it out. Left/progressive = regulations, right wing = unrestricted capitalism. Tech does not want to be regulated or restrained in any way that will interfere with making money.

Thank you from Canada 🇨🇦💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙

A great podcast. Information everyone should know. I will definetrly share this podcast.

And Bill Maher kept saying Peter Thiel just love JD Vance….GOP 😂

Peter Thiel - being immoral is a moral imperative. Yeah, ok.

I know people who worked w Thiel back in Palantir. Thiel did not elevate JD straight out of law school, with no resume or anything because of the goodness of his heart. He has thrown serious money and effort for Vance. This is a lot more "behind the covers" going on here.

is it the money? were they like this before the money? what makes these ghouls this way? and they're so driven to see their villain ideologies and vision come to fruition. it's so garish.

They called woke political correctness back in the Eighties.

Vote blue for our Democracy

Take these people at their word and treat them accordingly.

Super interesting. Learned so much

Tech doesn't help when a tornado hits your super yacht.

This was a great discussion. Terrifying and informative.

Considering he selected Vance, I have some questions about his judgement, especially since Vance seems to have been mostly successful when he was propped up by Thiel.

How will the tech guys merge with the evangelicals? Both groups make me nervous.

What gives Thiel the right to dictate and impose his beliefs upon anyone? Hey Thiel, no one is stopping you from living the way you want to, so stop trying to control and dictate your extreme philosophy upon the lives of others. I'm willing to bet that a majority of the guys' successful investments in tech are due to diversity. Many of those companies have a diverse talent pool that forms their workforce. Without that diverse pool, the odds of success become diminished. If everyone shares your beliefs then they become limited. I don't know if something is limited it naturally cannot progress past the limit. Therefore, it becomes boxed and is doomed not to progress and adapt to the ever-changing environment. It is not an accident that the United States has been the greatest incubator of invention and progress in the modern world. It is a nation of diverse thoughts and beliefs that consist of people from various nationalities and backgrounds. That is what gives it strength. True strength is in flexibility not in extreme ridged constraints. The key is not in either extreme but in the happy medium. Just like the string on a musical instrument, if you wind it too tight, not only will it become difficult to produce a musical note, but it will run the risk of breaking when struck. And if that string is unwound in the opposite extreme, it becomes too loose to form a note. Therefore, to create anything of musical value you must find the happy medium between the extremes and work your way out from there to produce the notes needed to form harmony and melody. This becomes the foundation needed to form music. The same could be said if you limit yourself to the same notes and scales. You will only produce music that is limited without a chance to progress into something fresh. The lack of diversity is naturally limited. It becomes a weakness and leaves you vulnerable due to a lack of flexibility to adapt to conditions that are beyond human control. There are plenty of places in the world that are not democratic, lack diversity, and have a strong immigration policy. So can anyone say that those places have produced anything of note? Well, let's just say not really, if anything. I urge Peter Thiel to show us an example of such a place other than the United States. Maybe there is a reason he has not left the U.S. because deep down, he knows those governments and societies are not going to provide him with the level of freedom that an open society does. If he is looking for a society and government that is devoid of any restraint and structure, then he can move to Mars with his buddy Elon. They both can play their social experiments there as far away as possible from us. I'm sure the music they produce will be great. Something consisting of inaudible notes from a lack of constraints and regulations on the bottom end to the extremely tight authoritarian notes at the top end of the scale. Good luck with that you narcissistic scumbags.

Thank you for this podcast.

I wonder what the Trumpian Fascists think about the homosexual Peter Thiel?

⏱️ CHAPTERS by TimeSkip ⏱️ 00:00:00 - Thiel's Influence on Republican Politics 00:01:25 - Overview of Peter Thiel's Role 00:02:52 - Thiel's Ideological Origins at Stanford 00:08:10 - The Diversity Myth Book Discussion 00:10:30 - Thiel's Rise in Silicon Valley 00:19:02 - Thiel's Ideological Shift and Impact 00:20:29 - Thiel's Libertarian Ideology 00:22:59 - Opposition to Democracy Explained 00:26:49 - Thiel's Influence in Politics 00:32:42 - Curtis Yarvin's Impact on Thiel 00:37:22 - Thiel Shift to Trump Politics 00:40:12 - Thiel's Reactionary Ideology 00:41:59 - Thiel's Role in Trump's Transition 00:43:51 - Thiel's Falling Out with Trump 00:45:11 - Thiel's Shift in Political Support 00:47:32 - Thiel's Coalition Building 00:52:41 - Thiel's Critique of Big Tech 00:56:55 - Thiel's Current Relationship with Trump 01:00:11 - Trump's Alt-Right Connections 01:01:29 - Conclusion and Final Thoughts

This has been a complete eye opener. 😳

Thanks for the inside scoop. Let’s save democracy 💙 voting blue 💙

Thiel trying to walk back disenfranchising women … and using JD as his puppet as VP and possibly P is scary

A conservationist that hates stagnancy is quite the show about how the GOP became a nuthouse

Isn't Theil gay? Not that it matters, but it gives insight into his likely misogyny

And here was me assuming that silicon valley tech billionaires were mainly lovable nerdy types. Tolkien-loving types. They sound more like power-mad incels! 😮 Yikes!