In a stunning display of capitulation, many influential figures in America seem to have surrendered to Donald Trump’s vision of an authoritarian oligarchy. Since his re-election, tech barons like Tim Cook and Sergey Brin, as well as media giants such as Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos’ Amazon, have eagerly welcomed Trump’s leadership.
Zuckerberg recently pledged a $1 million donation to Trump’s inauguration, alongside Sam Altman and Amazon. After Time magazine named Trump “Person of the Year,” Marc Benioff wrote that this marked a “time of great promise for our nation.” Patrick Soon-Shiong, owner of The L.A. Times, even killed an editorial criticizing Trump’s cabinet picks.
Furthermore, ABC News settled a defamation case brought by Trump after a jury found him liable for civilly abusing writer E. Jean Carroll. In exchange, the network received $15 million towards Trump’s future presidential library and a public statement of regret from anchor George Stephanopoulos.
Even top officials in the Biden administration seem to be toeing the line. Christopher Wray, the head of the F.B.I., agreed to step aside before his term ended rather than face Trump’s wrath. Democrats are reportedly willing to work with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy on their so-called “Department of Government Efficiency.”
Jonathan Blitzer wrote that the Biden administration’s refusal to renew humanitarian parole for immigrants from Venezuela and Haiti has created an atmosphere of curiously sedate complacency.
As tech moguls pivot from mouthing platitudes about racial equity to embracing Trump’s authoritarian rhetoric, it’s clear that the old liberal order is crumbling. The electorate seems to have given its verdict on #Resistance, leaving many elite Democrats scrambling for credit for bipartisanship.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/16/opinion/trump-tech-leaders-support.html