Billionaire and ‘lifelong Dem’ switches support to Trump citing their common interest on Israel
Former Democratic supporter, Mark Pincus, switched allegiance to Trump citing Middle East tensions and rising antisemitism.
On Sunday, video game billionaire Mark Pincus announced his support switch to Donald Trump after being a “lifelong Dem”. The founder of the video game company, Zynga which is popular for creating the game Farmville, has long been a supporter of the Democratic Party. However, just days before the election, he announced on social media to announce that he would be now supporting Trump.
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Mark Pincus reveals reason behind the switch
On X, Pincus cited the tensions in the Middle East this year and a rise in antisemitism as the reason behind supporting Trump. He wrote in his post “Israel is America's most loyal ally and the only Democracy in the Middle East. It is fighting Iran on 7 fronts and yet it can no longer trust the US.” The Jewish billionaire added, “Antisemitism in America is reaching levels not seen since pre-WWII.” Earlier, Trump had mentioned that he too vouched for the war to stop, as reported by Daily Mail. He has repeatedly called on Israel to end the war with Gaza quickly.
In his post he wrote, “This past year I have seen too much,” adding there “seems to be a war against freedom of speech”. He continued, “Happily MSM [mainstream media] is no longer trusted but if our sources of free speech like X are censored we move a step closer to Russia and China where the state is the only voice allowed”.
He added “I know America will continue to be great under the Dems or Trump. And yet I think America and Israel will be stronger under Trump.” He concluded, “My vote doesn't matter since I live in a one-party state. But I feel it's important that I state my position anyway,” given he resides in California.
Pincus' support for Trump came after he had already donated $1 million to President Biden’s then-reelection campaign and supported them for the past four years. In December 2023, donated the maximum allowed amount of $929,600 to the Biden Victory Fund, which supports Joe Biden's presidential campaign, and over $165,000 to the (DNC), which funds the broader Democratic Party followed by his visit to the White House.
Other Silicon Valley billionaires supporting Trump
With the last-minute switch, Pincus has joined other billionaires of Silicon Valley who are supporting Trump in this year’s election. The most known face among the lot is that of Elon Musk who also called himself a Dark MAGA at a Trump rally. The former president has reportedly pledged to make him the head of a new so-called 'Department of Government Efficiency' if he won the polls.
Similar to Pincus, venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya, who was an early senior executive at Facebook had formerly donated $1 million to the Democrats. However, he also backed Trump this election cycle.
The Winklevoss twins also supported Trump through cryptocurrency as they donated $1 million each to the former president in Bitcoins, as reported by Daily Mail.