How Silicon Valley's new tech right has profited by aligning with MAGA

TERRY GROSS, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. In the early days of internet startups, tech innovators in the Silicon Valley were seen as young idealists who developed their creations in their garages, bedrooms or at the universities where they were students. But recently, many Silicon Valley leaders have become identified with the right, with President Donald Trump and MAGA. These tech billionaires are now often referred to as oligarchs because of their money, power and access to the White House. How and why this alliance was formed is the subject of a new report in The Atlantic by my guest, George Packer. He shows how lucrative this alliance has been for the venture capitalists and for Trump. Packer writes that Trump's crypto wealth has grown by at least $7.5 billion since 2024. His article is titled "The Venture-Capital Populist: How David Sacks And The New Tech Right Went Full MAGA And Captured Washington." Sacks co-founded the venture capital fund Craft Ventures. He served as President Trump's special adviser for artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency. He's now co-chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Sacks was an early investor in Facebook, Uber, SpaceX, Palantir Technologies and Airbnb, was PayPal's first head of products and served as COO. He's also one of the hosts of the tech podcast "All-In." George Packer is a staff writer at The Atlantic, focusing on American politics, culture and U.S. foreign policy. …