Concerns are being raised about those in Trump’s inner circle as the openly homosexual co-founder of PayPal and billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel is serving on the Presidential Transition Team Executive Committee.
According to reports, Thiel is sifting through his Silicon Valley network of entrepreneurs as he seeks to build a team of technology experts that will advise the incoming Trump administration on tech issues.
Some have been receptive to the opportunity, and some have declined.
“The chance to influence the government is a huge opportunity,” Jack Abraham, the executive director of the Thiel Fellowship, told the Washington Post this week. “There are people who are repulsed by Trump, and it’s understandable—Silicon Valley is very liberal. But it’s unfortunate [that some people don’t want to contribute] because this is a unique opportunity for smart people to inject ideas.”
Trump had included Thiel’s name in a list of 16 members on the transition team when he announced the committee’s creation on Nov. 11.
“The mission of our team will be clear: put together the most highly qualified group of successful leaders who will be able to implement our change agenda in Washington,” he said. “Together, we will begin the urgent task of rebuilding this nation—specifically jobs, security and opportunity. This team is going to get to work immediately to Make America Great Again.”
Also included on the team are SkyBridge Capital Founder Anthony Scaramucci and Wall Street investment banker Steven Mnuchin, among others.
As previously reported, Thiel, who also sits on the board of Facebook, spoke at the Republican National Convention in July, telling those gathered that he believes that culture wars that he finds to be petty and trivial have overshadowed more important governmental issues.
“When I was a kid, the great debate was about how to defeat the Soviet Union, and we won. We are [now] told that the great debate is about who gets to use which bathroom. This a distraction from our real problems. Who cares?” he said, as some in the crowd stood and cheered.
As previously reported, PayPal is one of nearly 70 corporations that signed on to a legal brief challenging North Carolina’s “bathroom bill.” The company also canceled its expansion plans in the state out of its objection to the law.
“Of course, every American has a unique identity,” Thiel said in his speech at the convention. “I am proud to be gay. I am proud to be a Republican. But most of all, I am proud to be an American.”
His remark was met with cheers and chants of “USA!”
“I don’t pretend to agree with every plank in our party’s platform. But fake culture wars only distract us from our economic decline,” Thiel said. “And nobody in this race is being honest about it except Donald Trump.”
But Julio Severo of BarbWire expressed concern that Trump had welcomed Thiel onto his transition team to have a part in building the administration.
“Why did Trump choose a notorious anti-Christian homosexualist?” he asked. “Probably, Trump thought only in financial terms. The co-founder of PayPal and board member of Facebook, Thiel had contributed $1.25 million to the Trump campaign.”
Severo noted that not only is Thiel an open homosexual, but he is also a “gay rights” activist.
“Peter Thiel has supported gay rights causes such as the American Foundation for Equal Rights and GOProud. In 2010, he held Homocon 2010 for GOProud,” he outlined. “In 2012, he donated $10,000 to Minnesotans United for All Families, in order to fight legislative efforts by conservative Christians who wanted to ban homosexual ‘marriage’ in Minnesota.”
“The Associated Press reported last October that ‘Donald Trump says he would be a better president for gays than Clinton.’ Thiel insisted Trump will be ‘expansive’ on LGBT rights. Is Thiel a part of this ‘expansive’ strategy?” Severo asked.