Venture capitalist and All-In podcast co-host Chamath Palihapitiya used a Tuesday appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box to deliver one of Silicon Valley’s most complete political reversals, declaring that the media had “lied” about President Donald Trump and that he got it “totally, totally wrong.”
“The reality is that most of us were lied to by the media about President Donald Trump,” Palihapitiya said. “He didn’t say half the things he said, and why did these other people just fabricate what they wanted to say so that they could essentially assassinate his character?”
“I took the time to learn about it. I admitted where — the way that I met him — I admitted on the pod, which has millions of viewers, and I said, I got it totally wrong,” he said.
The remarks cap a journey that began at the opposite end of the political spectrum. In June 2020, Palihapitiya publicly donated $750,000 to Democratic candidates specifically in response to Trump’s actions in office. “Earlier this year, I decided to donate to the Democrats whenever Trump did something cruel, reckless or strategically incomprehensible,” he posted on X at the time.
From Donor to Defender
The pivot accelerated in June 2024, when Palihapitiya co-hosted a $12 million Silicon Valley fundraiser for Trump alongside David Sacks and donated $300,000 directly to the campaign, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records.
After meeting Trump in person, he told the All-In podcast he had “misjudged” him, describing a “huge gap between how the media tries to portray Donald Trump and what he’s like when you meet him in person.”
On Tuesday, he went further. He said Trump called him personally after he admitted on the podcast he had been wrong — and that the conversation only deepened his support.
“I put the phone down. I called my wife, and I said, we got it totally, totally wrong,” he added. “I got to know him, and he is fantastic.”
On Squawk Box, he told the panel: “You’re 100% right on Trump. He’s fantastic. Unbelievable person, very smart on top of it, open-minded — great president, so far.”
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