Democratic Party - Democratic National Committee

07/16/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/16/2024 16:00

J.D. Vance’s Ultra-Wealthy Silicon Valley Backers Celebrate Putting Their Shill On Trump’s Ticket Arrow

As J.D. Vance continues to shill for his ultra-wealthy Silicon Valley backers while pushing Donald Trump's failed MAGAnomics agenda that hurts working families,DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement:

"Ultra-rich Silicon Valley executives and mega-corporations love J.D. Vance because just like Donald Trump, he's on the side of the special interest backers who bankroll him, not working Americans. Vance has spent years cozying up to Silicon Valley elites, so it's no surprise that they've been championing him to put a shill for Trump's Project 2025 agenda to rig the economy for the ultra-wealthy on the GOP ticket. The American people want nothing to do with the Trump-Vance ticket's out-of-touch politics, and will soundly reject them both in November."

J.D. Vance is a shill for his ultra-wealthy and special interest backers - and they've returned the favor by pushing to put their lackey on Trump's ticket.

CNN: "A day before Donald Trump's deadline to pick a running mate, after months of private conversations with every corner of his orbit, the former president took a call from a new voice.

"That person, Tesla billionaire Elon Musk, was one of several people urging Trump in the final moments to select Ohio Sen. JD Vance.

"On Monday, Trump finally announced his choice: Vance would be his running mate."

New York Times: "That day in early 2021, Mr. Vance was ushered into Mr. Trump's office at Mar-a-Lago by one of the most secretive donors in G.O.P. politics: Peter Thiel, the billionaire founder of PayPal who broke with Silicon Valley to support Mr. Trump for president in 2016. Mr. Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., was at the meeting, too.

"Allies of Mr. Vance, including Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson, ran a counter campaign to reassure Mr. Trump about the selection, with supportive calls to the former president continuing until the moment Mr. Trump finally told Mr. Vance of his decision, on Monday afternoon, less than half an hour before he announced his choice on social media…

"Mr. Vance helped pave the way for Mr. Trump with some Silicon Valley donors. He spent months working on David Sacks, an entrepreneur whom Mr. Vance has called 'one of his closest confidants in politics,' to support Mr. Trump. That effort resulted in a $12 million event for the Trump campaign. Mr. Sacks said at the event that it 'would never have happened' without Mr. Vance's support, according to a person familiar with his remarks.

"Mr. Musk, one of the world's richest men and the owner of the website X, has emerged as a quiet ally of Mr. Vance's, according to two people briefed on the relationship. Mr. Musk has viewed Mr. Biden's re-election as an existential crisis for the nation and told Mr. Trump directly that he should choose Mr. Vance as his running mate, describing the Trump-Vance pairing as 'beautiful,' according to one of the people with knowledge of their relationship. Mr. Musk did not respond to requests for comment."

Cincinnati Enquirer: "Super PAC supporting potential Senate candidate J.D. Vance gets $10 million donation from PayPal cofounder"

"Thiel, a German-American billionaire and early investor in Facebook, gave $10 million to Protect Ohio Values, a super PAC formed last month to support Vance's possible bid, said Bryan Lanza, a communications adviser to the super PAC.

"The Mercer family also made a 'significant contribution,' Lanza said. Hedge fund billionaire Robert Mercer and his family were key supporters of former President Donald Trump's presidential bid. Mercer was an important investor in Breitbart News and a force in the campaign for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union."

Cleveland.com: "Vance, meanwhile, has struggled to keep up financially, not launching general election campaign ads until last month. But backing from a single donor famously helped him win the Republican primary in May…

"They also include some well-known national Republican mega-donors, such as Steve Wynn, the casino magnate whom Republicans previously cut off donations over sexual misconduct allegations; and Rebekah Mercer, whose family helped fund Breitbart, the right-wing political news website.

"Vance took in more than $310,000 in money from PACS, of which $248,000 came from single-issue groups. That includes $5,000 from the anti-abortion CatholicVote.org PAC, $5,000 from the conservative Koch Industries, and fossil fuel interests like Marathon Petroleum Corp. and Phillips 66 PAC, which each gave $5,000.

"Concerns over Vance's lack of funding led the Senate Leadership Fund, the McConnell-aligned Super PAC, to reserve $28 million in TV ads that began airing after Labor Day. The SLF raises vast amounts of money from across the country, including $31.5 million from One Nation, an affiliated dark-money group that doesn't have to disclose its donors, $10 million from Kenneth Griffin, a Chicago-based hedge-fund manager."

It's no surprise that Vance backs Donald Trump's Project 2025 agenda that includes giving handouts to the ultra-wealthy (again) at the expense of working Americans and risks supercharged inflation.

Vance: "I've reviewed a lot of [Project 2025]. There are some good ideas in there."

Trump: "You're all people that have a lot of money … You're rich as hell. … We're gonna give you tax cuts."

Vanity Fair: "DonaldTrumpWants to Give His Favorite Corporations Another Giant Tax Cut in a Second Term: Report"

CBS News: "Two years after Trump tax cuts, middle-class Americans are falling behind"

The Guardian: "Donald Trump's $1.5tn tax cuts have helped billionaires pay a lower rate than the working class for the first time in history."

Axios: "Sixteen Nobel prize-winning economists are jumping into the presidential campaign with a stark warning: Former President Trump's plans would reignite inflation and cause lasting harm to the global economy if he wins in November."

Project 2025: "The corporate income tax rate should be reduced to 18 percent."

The Atlantic: "Trump's Plan to Supercharge Inflation"