Republican vice presidential candidate U.S. Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) speaks at a rally for trucking company Team Hardinger on August 28, 2024 in Erie, Pennsylvania.
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Donald Trump’s presidential running mate J.D. Vance is urging Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel to “not stand by” and support Republican votes financially, Vance told The Washington Post. financial times.
Vance told reporters in an interview in the key swing state of Wisconsin that he would continue to push his former boss Thiel to abandon his decision not to run for president in 2024.
“I’m going to continue to talk to Peter and convince him that — you know he’s obviously a little burned out on politics — but if we lose, if Kamala Harris is elected president, he’s going to be really burned out on politics. Got exhausted,” the US senator from Ohio told the Financial Times.
“He’s a conservative at heart,” Vance said, “and I think he needs to step up and support this ticket.”
Representatives for Thiel did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on Vance’s remarks. The Trump campaign has been contacted for additional comment.
Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies and Founders Fund, speaks while holding a hundred dollar bill during the Bitcoin 2022 conference at the Miami Beach Convention Center on April 7, 2022 in Miami, Florida.
Marco Bello | Getty Images
PayPal and Palantir co-founder Thiel provided $1.25 million in support of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Six years later, he spent $15 million to support Vance’s successful Senate bid.
Earlier in his career, Vance worked at Mithril Capital, a venture capital firm co-founded by Thiel.
Thiel said in June that he would not give any money to Trump’s super PAC this cycle. But he said if he had to choose a candidate, he would ultimately support Trump over then-Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
“If you put a gun to my head, I would vote for Trump,” Thiel said at the Aspen Ideas Festival.
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