Politics
Before going MAGA, Vance made big money in San Francisco's tech world
The new Republican vice presidential nominee hangs his proverbial hat on hailing from Middletown, Ohio — a steel mill town in the heart of working-class America.
But for a few years, J.D. Vance joined the world of coastal elites, building a robust venture capitalist career and hobnobbing with some of the wealthiest tech leaders in the Bay Area.
Miles away from his Appalachian upbringing and long before he became former President Trump’s running mate, he was quietly building a Silicon Valley venture capital career and a life in San Francisco.
In an essay for the Atlantic in 2016, he contrasted that reality with conditions in his hometown:
“A few Saturdays ago, my wife and I spent the morning volunteering at a community garden in our San Francisco neighborhood. After a few hours of casual labor, we and the other volunteers dispersed to our respective destinations: tasty brunches, day trips to wine country, art-gallery tours. It was a perfectly normal day, by San Francisco standards.
“That very same Saturday, in the small Ohio town where I grew up, four people overdosed on heroin. A local police lieutenant coolly summarized the banality of it all: ‘It’s not all that unusual for a 24-hour period here.’ He was right: in Middletown, Ohio, that too is a perfectly normal day.”
The man who would later write the bestselling “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis” — and become a darling of the MAGA right — was in his late 20s when he moved to San Francisco likely around 2013, coinciding with a major boom for Big Tech companies such as Facebook, Google and Twitter. Venture capital firms were also “rolling in money,” said Peter Leyden, founder of Reinvent Futures and host of the AI Age Begins discussion series.
Vance “was here in the absolute boom time of an incredible ride,” Leyden said. “Everybody was gaga about tech.”
The Silicon Valley tech community Vance entered was fairly liberal — perhaps less so than royal blue San Francisco nearby, but moderate left at least. Still, several tech leaders told the Times, the industry has also harbored a cohort of conservatives. And some of the more vocal members of this minority emerged during the Trump years, including Elon Musk, David Sacks and Peter Thiel — all of whom are now in Vance’s corner.
Vance worked for “the subgroup that was more the libertarian, right-wing crew,” Leyden said. “Now that group has morphed since that decade into an increasingly kind of Trumpian, more radicalized right.”
Observing the boom and bust of tech informed Vance’s view of market forces, as he recounted at a policy and tech conference in February. At one of his first jobs at Mithril Capital, for example, he observed how seemingly rapidly growing businesses were doomed to bust, simply because the incumbent businesses in the field were already so big.
“Something I didn’t realize at the time … is that the thing that was wrong with their business wasn’t their business. It’s that they existed in a fundamentally non-competitive market,” he said at the conference, adding later, “We want innovation and we want competition, and I think that it’s impossible to have one without the other.”
He came to believe that antitrust policy can be a useful tool for allowing new companies to enter a market. In the same speech, Vance lauded Lina Khan, chair of the Federal Trade Commission, who has led antitrust investigations against major tech companies, such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft and OpenAI.
The problem with having big companies like Google monopolizing information, Vance said, is that they can be biased — and that can be bad for democracy.
“The American people, I think, should have the right to decide,” Vance said. “And if the new mode of acquiring information is fundamentally biased, I think it’s a far bigger threat to democracy than almost anything that’s called a threat to democracy in 2024.”
While it’s impossible to detail the impact Vance’s San Francisco days made on his political worldview, they certainly affected his wallet. One of Vance’s strongest Bay Area supporters was also one of his first bosses: Thiel of PayPal and Facebook fame, as well as a Republican megadonor.
Siri Srinivas, a partner at a venture capitalist firm, noted Vance’s connections.
“He isn’t just another guy who was a VC and then wrote a book and became a senator,” Srinivas said. “He also worked very closely with someone who has worked to collect political power: Peter Thiel.”
Thiel owned Mithril Captial, where Vance began as a principal. In 2017, Vance moved back to Ohio to co-found Revolution, a venture capital firm focused on investing in Midwestern startups, according to Axios.
By 2020, Axios reported, Vance had raised $93 million, with backing from Thiel, to start Narya, another Ohio-based venture with a portfolio that includes Rumble.com, a social media and video platform popular with the far right. It hosts Trump’s Truth Social.
As Vance’s tech career was taking off, so too were his political ambitions. And though he labeled himself a “never Trumper” in 2016, the Ohio Republican was coming around to more Trumpian postures — much like his sponsor in Silicon Valley. Thiel, who had served on the board of Meta, Facebook’s parent company, was become increasingly attuned to boosting Republican candidates, most notably donating to Trump.
Thiel donated $15 million to Vance’s Senate campaign in 2022, which was also bolstered by Trump’s endorsement. Vance sailed to victory, serving as Ohio’s senator for less than two years before being tapped for as a vice presidential candidate.
His Silicon Valley connections have already come in handy in his political career. Several news outlets reported that Vance was key in helping Sacks organize a fundraiser in June that raised $12 million for the Trump campaign.
“As I look out at this convention, I see a party that is strong and unified behind President Donald J. Trump and his pick for Vice President, Sen. J.D. Vance,” Sacks said at the Republican National Convention on Monday night. “And what about the Democrats? … We know what their agenda will be: four more years of chaos and failure, both at home and abroad.”
“In my hometown of San Francisco,” Sacks continued, “Democrat rule has turned the streets of our beautiful city into a cesspool of crime, homeless encampments and open drug use.”
What remains to be seen is how much Vance’s tech background will influence administration policy. Scott Wiener, a Democratic state senator from San Francisco, noted the new GOP platform explicitly supports the development of artificial intelligence and promises to “end Democrats’ unlawful and unAmerican Crypto crackdown.”
“I assume that was a very cynical play to try to get financial support from certain venture capitalists and tech people,” Wiener said.
But Srinivas, the venture capitalist, said Vance’s background in tech is at odds with his current politics.
“Most VCs are pro-science and having a technologist at the highest levels of government would be a huge win for Silicon Valley,” Srinivas said. “But, I’m not sure Vance is typical in that regard — he supported a ban on abortions in his last campaign, so I’m not sure he’s the best champion for science or technology.”
When asked at the February conference about how a future Republican administration would affect tech companies, Vance responded prophetically:
“As you know, personnel is policy, and a lot of what will determine Trump administration antitrust policy is who ultimately takes the reins the senior roles in the Trump administration, because they’re going to be the ones who are executing all this stuff.”
Politics
Dan Bongino officially leaves FBI deputy director role after less than a year, returns to ‘civilian life’
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Dan Bongino returned to private life on Sunday after serving as deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for less than a year.
Bongino said on X that Saturday was his last day on the job before he would return to “civilian life.”
“It’s been an incredible year thanks to the leadership and decisiveness of President Trump. It was the honor of a lifetime to work with Director Patel, and to serve you, the American people. See you on the other side,” he wrote.
The former FBI deputy director announced in mid-December that he would be leaving his role at the bureau at the start of the new year.
BONDI, PATEL TAP MISSOURI AG AS ADDITIONAL FBI CO-DEPUTY DIRECTOR ALONGSIDE BONGINO
Dan Bongino speaks with FBI Director Kash Patel as they attend the annual 9/11 Commemoration Ceremony at the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York City on Sept. 11, 2025. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump previously praised Bongino, who assumed office in March, for his work at the FBI.
“Dan did a great job. I think he wants to go back to his show,” Trump told reporters.
FBI DIRECTOR, TOP DOJ OFFICIAL RESPOND TO ‘FAILING’ NY TIMES ARTICLE CLAIMING ‘DISDAIN’ FOR EACH OTHER
“After his swearing-in ceremony as FBI Deputy Director, Dan Bongino paid his respects at the Wall of Honor, honoring the brave members of the #FBI who made the ultimate sacrifice and reflecting on the legacy of those who paved the way in the pursuit of justice and security,” the FBI said in a post on X. (@FBI on X)
Bongino spoke publicly about the personal toll of the job during a May appearance on “Fox & Friends,” saying he had sacrificed a lot to take the role.
“I gave up everything for this,” he said, citing the long hours both he and FBI Director Kash Patel work.
“I stare at these four walls all day in D.C., by myself, divorced from my wife — not divorced, but I mean separated — and it’s hard. I mean, we love each other, and it’s hard to be apart,” he added.
The FBI’s J. Edgar Hoover headquarters building in Washington on Nov. 2, 2016. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)
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Bongino’s departure leaves Andrew Bailey, who was appointed co-deputy director in September 2025, as the bureau’s other deputy director.
California has tried all manner of design in choosing its governor.
Democrat Gray Davis, to name a recent example, had an extensive background in government and politics and a bland demeanor that suggested his first name was also a fitting adjective.
Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, by contrast, was a novice candidate who ran for governor on a whim. His super-sized action hero persona dazzled Californians like the pyrotechnics in one of his Hollywood blockbusters.
In the end, however, their political fates were the same. Both left office humbled, burdened with lousy poll numbers and facing a well of deep voter discontent.
(Schwarzenegger, at least, departed on his own terms. He chased Davis from the Capitol in an extraordinary recall and won reelection before his approval ratings tanked during his second term.)
There are roughly a dozen major candidates for California governor in 2026 and, taken together, they lack even a small fraction of Schwarzenegger’s celebrity wattage.
Nor do any have the extensive Sacramento experience of Davis, who was a gubernatorial chief of staff under Jerry Brown before serving in the Legislature, then winning election as state controller and lieutenant governor.
That’s not, however, to disparage those running.
The contestants include a former Los Angeles mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa; three candidates who’ve won statewide office, former Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra, schools Supt. Tony Thurmond and former Controller Betty Yee; two others who gained national recognition during their time in Congress, Katie Porter and Eric Swalwell; and Riverside County’s elected sheriff, Chad Bianco.
The large field offers an ample buffet from which to choose.
The rap on this particular batch of hopefuls is they’re a collective bore, which, honestly, seems a greater concern to those writing and spitballing about the race than a reflection of some great upwelling of citizens clamoring for bread and circuses.
In scores of conversations with voters over the past year, the sentiment that came through, above all, was a sense of practicality and pragmatism. (And, this being a blue bastion, no small amount of horror, fear and loathing directed at the vengeful and belligerent Trump administration.)
It’s never been more challenging and expensive to live in California, a place of great bounty that often exacts in dollars and stress what it offers in opportunity and wondrous beauty.
With a governor seemingly more focused on his personal agenda, a 2028 bid for president, than the people who put him in office, many said they’d like to replace Gavin Newsom with someone who will prioritize California and their needs above his own.
That means a focus on matters such as traffic, crime, fire prevention, housing and homelessness. In other words, pedestrian stuff that doesn’t light up social media or earn an invitation to hold forth on one of the Beltway chat shows.
“Why does it take so long to do simple things?” asked one of those voters, the Bay Area’s Michael Duncan, as he lamented his pothole-ridden, 120-mile round-trip commute between Fairfield and an environmental analyst job in Livermore.
The answer is not a simple one.
Politics are messy, like any human endeavor. Governing is a long and laborious process, requiring study, deliberation and the weighing of competing forces. Frankly, it can be rather dull.
Certainly the humdrum of legislation or bureaucratic rule-marking is nothing like the gossipy speculation about who may or may not bid to lead California as its 41st governor.
Why else was so much coverage devoted to whether Sen. Alex Padilla would jump into the gubernatorial race — he chose not to — and the possible impact his entry would have on the contest, as opposed to, say, his thinking on CEQA or FMAP?
(The former is California’s much-contested Environmental Quality Act; the latter is the formula that determines federal reimbursement for Medi-Cal, the state’s healthcare program for low-income residents.)
Just between us, political reporters tend to be like children in front of a toy shop window. Their bedroom may be cluttered with all manner of diversion and playthings, but what they really want is that shiny, as-yet unattained object — Rick Caruso! — beckoning from behind glass.
Soon enough, once a candidate has entered the race, boredom sets in and the speculation and desire for someone fresh and different starts anew. (Will Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta change his mind and run for governor?)
For their part, many voters always seem to be searching for some idealized candidate who exists only in their imagination.
Someone strong, but not dug in. Willing to compromise, but never caving to the other side. Someone with the virginal purity of a political outsider and the intrinsic capability of an insider who’s spent decades cutting deals and keeping the government wheels spinning.
They look over their choices and ask, in the words of an old song, is that all there is? (Spoiler alert: There are no white knights out there.)
Donald Trump was, foremost, a celebrity before his burst into politics. First as a denizen of New York’s tabloid culture and then as the star of TV’s faux-boardroom drama, “The Apprentice.”
His pizzazz was a large measure of his appeal, along with his manufactured image as a shrewd businessman with a kingly touch and infallible judgment.
His freewheeling political rallies and frothy social media presence were, and continue to be, a source of great glee to his fans and followers.
His performance as president has been altogether different, and far less amusing.
If the candidates for California governor fail to light up a room, that’s not such a bad thing. Fix the roads. Make housing more affordable. Help keep the place from burning to the ground.
Leave the fun and games to the professionals.
Politics
Kamala Harris blasts Trump administration’s capture of Venezuela’s Maduro as ‘unlawful and unwise’
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Former Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday evening condemned the Trump administration’s capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife, calling the operation both “unlawful” and “unwise.”
In a lengthy post on X, Harris acknowledged that Maduro is a “brutal” and “illegitimate” dictator but said that President Donald Trump’s actions in Venezuela “do not make America safer, stronger, or more affordable.”
“Donald Trump’s actions in Venezuela do not make America safer, stronger, or more affordable,” Harris wrote. “That Maduro is a brutal, illegitimate dictator does not change the fact that this action was both unlawful and unwise. We’ve seen this movie before.
“Wars for regime change or oil that are sold as strength but turn into chaos, and American families pay the price.”
SEE PICS: VENEZUELANS WORLDWIDE CELEBRATE AS EXILES REACT TO MADURO’S CAPTURE
Vice President Kamala Harris had strong words for the Trump administration’s capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. (Montinique Monroe/Getty Images)
Harris made the remarks hours after the Trump administration confirmed that Maduro and his wife were captured and transported out of Venezuela as part of “Operation Absolute Resolve.”
The former vice president also accused the administration of being motivated by oil interests rather than efforts to combat drug trafficking or promote democracy.
“The American people do not want this, and they are tired of being lied to. This is not about drugs or democracy. It is about oil and Donald Trump’s desire to play the regional strongman,” Harris said. “If he cared about either, he wouldn’t pardon a convicted drug trafficker or sideline Venezuela’s legitimate opposition while pursuing deals with Maduro’s cronies.”
SECOND FRONT: HOW A SOCIALIST CELL IN THE US MOBILIZED PRO-MADURO FOOT SOLDIERS WITHIN 12 HOURS
President Donald Trump shared a photo of captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima after Saturday’s strikes on Venezuela. (Donald Trump via Truth Social)
Harris, who has been rumored as a potential Democratic contender in the 2028 presidential race, additionally accused the president of endangering U.S. troops and destabilizing the region.
“The President is putting troops at risk, spending billions, destabilizing a region, and offering no legal authority, no exit plan, and no benefit at home,” she said. “America needs leadership whose priorities are lowering costs for working families, enforcing the rule of law, strengthening alliances, and — most importantly — putting the American people first.”
MADURO’S FALL SPARKS SUSPICION OF BETRAYAL INSIDE VENEZUELA’S RULING ELITE
CIA Director John Ratcliffe, left, President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio watch U.S. military operations in Venezuela from Mar-a-Lago in Florida early Saturday. (Donald Trump via Truth Social)
Maduro and his wife arrived at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn late Saturday after being transported by helicopter from the DEA in Manhattan after being processed.
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Earlier in the day, Trump said that the U.S. government will “run” Venezuela “until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.”
Harris’ office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.
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