The U.S. presidential election of 2024 is of great interest in Silicon Valley.
In the 2020 cycle, tech companies and their bosses were busy doing everything to avoid a proliferation of misinformation like the one of 2016.
The new campaign promises to be different. Tech luminaries want to play an important role this time around. They want to be proactive. They simply want to crown the winner.
In November, well before the race for the nominations started, Elon Musk, the most powerful of CEOs, had made known that he would support the Republican governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, for the presidency. DeSantis is seen as the biggest threat to former President Donald Trump for the Republican nomination.
Trump is currently the frontrunner in all polls, holding a lead of at least 30 points over DeSantis, who relied on Musk to announce his presidential bid. On May 24, the billionaire interviewed the presidential hopeful on Twitter, introducing him to his 142 million followers.
Though the interview, which was more like a friendly conversation, was disrupted by technical problems, it enabled DeSantis to align his culture war with that of Musk, the chief executive of Tesla (TSLA), who for several months has been denouncing what he calls the woke mind virus: progressive policies.
Musk promised to use his influence -- and $20 million to $25 million of his wealth -- on behalf of his candidate.
'He Can And Will': Dorsey About RFK Jr.'s Chances
In the Republican camp, Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle (ORCL), supports Sen. Tim Scott (R-South Carolina).
Ellison, the world's fifth richest person with a net worth estimated at $116 billion as of June 4, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, plans to spend up to $60 million to help Scott, CNBC has reported. The 78-year-old billionaire was present when Scott announced his candidacy on May 22 at his alma mater, Charleston Southern University.
Another tech billionaire is now entering the campaign -- but on the side of the Democrats: Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter. Dorsey, who is CEO of payment-services fintech Block (SQ), is backing Robert F. Kennedy Jr, 69, one of the few Democratic Party candidates to challenge President Joe Biden, 80, for the nomination in next year's primary campaign.
"He can and will," the 46-year-old billionaire posted on June 4 with a link to an interview of Kennedy, in which he claims he can beat both Trump and DeSantis in the general election. Kennedy is addressing the question of whether he's electable. That question may be hindering many Democratic voters from backing him, even if they also have reservations about Biden.
Dorsey's positive tweet toward the scion of the Democrats' most prominent family drew many comments from Twitter users. Some users posed a clear question to the serial entrepreneur.
"Are you endorsing or just predicting?" one Twitter user asked.
"Both," he responded.
Musk Will Interview Kennedy
The billionaire also wanted to be positive when it was pointed out to him that the apparatus of the Democratic Party could block his candidate.
"Not a chance the DNC allows him to be nominated," one Twitter user said, referring to the Democratic National Committee.
"Even more reason," Dorsey responded.
"The DNC would never allow that, are you kidding??" another Twitter user quipped.
"True but they seem to be more irrelevant by the day," Dorsey said.
RFK Jr. announced his presidential bid on April 19. He is the son of former U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy, who was a presidential candidate and was assassinated in 1968. RFK Jr. also is the nephew of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, who was assassinated five years before his brother.
A lawyer specializing in environmental issues, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been known since 2005 to propagate conspiracy theories on vaccines, in particular linking autism to one of their components.
Kennedy has a following among conspiracy-theory fans on the right. While he supports abortion rights and gun control, his positions against vaccines make him a darling in the right-wing media where he is often invited.
He's going to have an even bigger platform this Monday, June 5, as Musk is scheduled to interview him via live audio on Twitter, best known as Twitter Spaces, at 2 p.m. U.S. Eastern. That'll make Kennedy the second presidential hopeful, after DeSantis, to campaign live on the platform in an interview with Musk.
Dorsey welcomed this upcoming interview, calling the initiative "excellent."
Dorsey, like Musk, says Biden is too old to run. He calls on the Democrats to promote a new generation of leaders for 2024.
Opinion polls show that the advanced age of the current Democratic president worries many voters. Biden and his entourage reiterate that he is in great shape for a second term.
The octogenarian stumbled on stage on June 1 during a military ceremony in Colorado. This minor fall has increased speculation about his advanced age.
"Open the Democrat primaries and debates," Dorsey posted on June 1, with a video Biden's fall. "This isn’t fair to anyone."
