Reggie James, founder of the new media company Eternal, said: "My friends who voted for Trump are not happy now. Everyone is angry. When people in the technology community participated in government affairs, they thought Trump would adopt more precise methods instead of wreaking havoc like he is now."
Several Silicon Valley executives Business Insider spoke to expressed similar frustrations, particularly with the chaos the Department of Government Effectiveness has created across the federal government. A top venture capital firm partner directly involved in the Trump administration said: "We all support a more business-friendly presidential term, but at the end of the day, the entire industry of cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence is screwed. Trump is surrounded by liars. They are profiting from our votes, money and time."
While the tech industry as a whole, and rank-and-file employees in particular, remain relatively liberal-leaning, many influential figures have begun to support Trump in recent years. These include high-profile venture capital firms like Andreessen Horowitz and Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, the hosts of the popular tech podcast "All-In," and billionaire CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, who donated money and secured VIP seats at Trump's second inauguration. But in recent weeks, amid a backdrop of shaky tariffs, massive government layoffs and a volatile stock market, some influential pro-Trump figures have grown impatient and disillusioned.
This concern is particularly strong among startup founders, many of whom are bracing for a recession. "There's a lot of uncertainty right now, and it's making people nervous," said Sarah Mauskopf, founder of childcare marketplace Winnie. Many founders are very worried about "whether they can still raise money," she said.
Others are outraged by what they see as shady dealings in the cryptocurrency space. The relationship between the technology industry and cryptocurrencies has always been tense, with many technology leaders viewing cryptocurrencies as Ponzi schemes with little practical functional value that will only bring discredit to the entire technology industry. The Biden administration has taken a tough stance on cryptocurrencies, while Trump has enthusiastically embraced the cryptocurrency community. Days before his inauguration, he launched "Trumpcoin," a meme coin that reached a market cap of $14.5 billion before immediately plummeting; today, its market cap hovers around $2 billion.
One conservative entrepreneur believes Trump’s relationship with the tech industry was destined to be short-lived from the start. He said: "Tech people don't understand politicians, and politicians don't understand technology. Part of the reason is that people in tech don't really have an ideology. They operate in a globalized new world order. And Trump is only interested in deals that benefit the United States."
Economist Noah Smith, who runs a popular Substack column called Noahopinion, said: "Democrats think Trump wants to help billionaires, but that's not the case. Trump is beating up America's billionaires. If you continue to support Trump when your entire portfolio is plummeting, that means you are a lunatic."
Smith believes the tariffs have made Jeff Bezos, one of Trump's wealthiest supporters, unhappy with the administration. About 25% of the products on Amazon come from China. In late February, Bezos announced that the Washington Post’s opinion section, which he owns, would now be dedicated to “supporting and defending two pillars: individual liberty and the free market.”
While many viewed the move as a move to curry favor with Trump, Smith had a very different and unusual interpretation. "This is Bezos's declaration of war against Trump, not conservatism. Trump is against free enterprise. So if you want to stand with business people but against Trump, you say, 'I support free enterprise.' Just look at what the Washington Post published: They were bashing Trump and saying, 'Fuck the tariffs.'"
“The very unhappy people right now — the people who are supposed to be the tech community’s staunchest supporters — are losing ground,” Smith continued. For now, the tech industry remains hopeful that any economic setbacks will be temporary.