When it was announced that Silicon Valley entrepreneur and billionaire Peter Thiel would be speaking on the final night of the Republican National Convention, many people had one question on their mind: Why would a genius Silicon Valley type like Thiel want to speak at Donald Trump’s convention?
There was much speculation on Thiel’s purpose, ranging from a rogue endorsement of Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson to a surprise introduction of Hulk Hogan.
Thursday night finally provided the real answer. Thiel sees the federal government as broken and outdated, in need of the same innovative disruption that Thiel has created in many sectors of the economy. And he thinks Trump can give the government that disruption.
“Today our government is broken,” Thiel said. “Our nuclear bases still use floppy disks. Our newest fighter jets can’t even fly in the rain. And it would be kind to say the government’s software works poorly, because much of the time it doesn’t even work at all … We don’t accept such incompetence in Silicon Valley, and we must not accept it from our government.”
Thiel isn’t exactly a pure conservative and admitted he doesn’t agree with everything in the party’s platform. He made sure to criticize America’s military actions in the Middle East and Libya. “It’s time to end the era of stupid wars and rebuild our country,” Thiel said.
Thiel was probably also enticed by the chance to make history: He became the first openly gay person to speak about being gay at the Republican National Convention. Four gay delegates from California moved to the front of the convention floor while he was speaking to mark the occasion.
Rep. Jim Kolbe, who is gay, addressed the 2000 Republican convention but did not mention his sexuality on stage.
Thiel called the debate over transgender bathroom choices a distraction. “Who cares?” Thiel said to cheers. “Of course, every American has a unique identity. I am proud to be gay. I am proud to be a Republican. But most of all I am proud to be an American.” After each of those sentences, the crowd cheered. But it cheered loudest after the last line.
Thiel closed explaining that he thinks Trump can keep the country focused on fixing its economic problems and send the country into the future. “When Donald Trump asks us to Make America Great Again, he’s not suggesting a return to the past,” Thiel said. “He’s running to lead us back to that bright future.”
Jason Russell is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
