In posts on X and an opinion column penned for The San Francisco Standard, Hoffman writes: "We in Silicon Valley can't bend the knee to Trump. We can't shrink away and hope the crisis fades. Hope without action is not a strategy -- it's an invitation for Trump to trample whatever he can see, including our own business and security interests."
Business leaders who believe staying quiet about the Trump administration will protect their companies are making a dangerous miscalculation, says Reid Hoffman. The LinkedIn cofounder and tech investor said in an episode of the "Rapid Response" podcast published Tuesday that he rejects the idea that executives can simply wait out political turbulence. "The theory that if you just keep your mouth shut, the storm will blow over and it won't be a problem - you should be disabused of that theory now," Hoffman said.
Reid Hoffman doesn't do much in half measures. He cofounded LinkedIn, of course, and helped bankroll companies including Meta and Airbnb in their startup days. He has also fashioned himself, via books, podcasts, and other public appearances, as something of a public intellectual-a pro-capitalist philosopher who still insists that tech can be a force for good. Most recently, Hoffman has emerged as one of Silicon Valley's most prominent defenders of artificial intelligence.
Musk posted on X, stating, 'When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy. Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.' His remarks criticize the approach of tax-and-spending bills, especially regarding their implications for U.S. debt.
