Ex-Trump backer Peter Thiel: ‘If you hold a gun to my head, I’ll vote for Trump’

Tech billionaire Peter Thiel, formerly one of former President Trump’s largest financial backers, said Thursday that he won’t be giving Trump any money during this campaign cycle, but that may still vote for him.

“If you hold a gun to my head, I’ll vote for Trump,” Thiel said in an interview on stage at the Aspen Ideas Festival. “I’m not going to give any money to his super PAC.”

Thiel gave $1.25 million to Trump in 2016 and was one of Trump’s strongest supporters among business and tech leaders. During the 2022 election cycle, he spent over $30 million to help Republicans.

Thiel, who was an early investor in Facebook and co-founded Palantir, has soured on Trump since the 2022 cycle after his backed candidate faced mixed results. Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) won his race, while Arizona’s Blake Masters lost his.

Last year, Thiel said the Trump administration was “crazier” and “more dangerous” than he expected.

“Voting for Trump was like a not very articulate scream for help,” he said. “There are a lot of things I got wrong.”