Ben Horowitz says he’ll donate to Kamala Harris regardless

“As I mentioned earlier, Felicia and I have known Vice President Harris for over 10 years and she has been a wonderful friend to us over that time,” Horowitz wrote in an email to his venture capital firm obtained from Axles. “As a result of our friendship, Felicia and I will make a significant donation to supporters of the Harris Walz campaign.”

I… I’m listening. Two things. First, one of the most striking things about the podcast Horowitz did with his a16z co-founder Mark Andreessen was how focused both men were on who would attend their meetings. Their political commitments in many ways came down to who would spend face-to-face time with them. Near the end of the podcast, Horowitz told what (I assume?) was supposed to be an uplifting story about spending time with Trump’s grandchildren and how his reaction to the news of Trump’s assassination was: “Oh my God, Grandpa just got shot.”

So, you know, the whole Harris thing about being a “great friend” to both Horowitz and his wife works as his political stance. I kind of understand it. I want my friends to succeed too!

Second, Trump provided a key endorsement before Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race in favor of Harris, and before a huge wave of support for the new Democratic candidate. This meant that a16z had already sacrificed any influence he might have had over the Harris administration – and a candidate who made Trump look less of a certain winner. In the case of Harris’ victory, these boys have waited four whole years without any important games, and we already know that they see it as a terrible tragedy for the entire nation.

To regain any leverage in a potentially Democratic-led government, someone will have to eat humble pie, and it certainly won’t be Andreessen. Horowitz, whose support for Trump was called “Mage’s retreat” By San Francisco Standardhas a history of donating to progressive causes; Harris, then a senator, was even a guest at Horowitz’s backyard barbecue in 2018.

“I wonder what they will do if Kamala wins,” said one of the founders San Francisco Standard Trump’s support for a16z. “How do I do it to come back?”

Well, I guess we know now. Horowitz’s email shows that he had several conversations with Harris and her team – and it’s critical to note that he reached out to the candidate himself, given that access to her is apparently one of Horowitz’s main political concerns. So while Horowitz still thinks President Joe Biden is no good and very bad, “my faith” in Harris encourages him to do good for technology, even though she has yet to take any policy stance.

Harris does something like overtures on what Horowitz called “probably the most emotional topic” of the election: crypto. One of her campaign advisers said: “She intends to support policies that ensure the continued development of new technologies and this type of industry.” in response to a question about cryptocurrencies.