Trump Vs. Biden: Tech Policy

a16z0 HN recommenders · 2024–2026
161K views · podcast · news · Uploaded 2024-07-16

On The Ben & Marc Show, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz compare Trump and Biden policies on tech, crypto, AI and startup taxes, framed around their 'Little Tech Agenda'. They also discuss the Trump assassination attempt.

HN cites it as the source for how Andreessen and Horowitz explain their political shift toward the Republicans.

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5 comments from Hacker News

@cal5k2024 · in “Against choosing your political allegiances based on who is "pro-crypto"”

Vitalik didn't mention them by name, but given the timing it seems likely he was referring to this: [VIDEO]

@claytongulick2024 · in “Ask HN: Serious) can someone ELI5 why tech elites are turning to the right?”

I think if you watch Andreessen & Horowitz describe their thinking, it will explain their perspective [1]. For others, such as Musk, I don't think it's as much "turning to the right" as it is that many on the left, which used to be a bastion of civil liberties and free speech protection, have abandoned that position and embraced speech suppression. This has become so pronounced that the label "liberal" is pretty confusing these days, and many folks feel the need to clarify that they believe in "liberalism" as in "Classical liberalism" [2] because many modern "liberals" have moved away from many of those traditional beliefs. There also seems to be a strong and growing anti-capitalist sentiment in the Democrat party which has driven some business folks that were traditionally "left" away from that ideology. And while it may sound a bit trite, I think another factor is that they are simply getting older. The phrase "if you're not a liberal in your 20's you have no heart, if you're not conservative in your 30's you have no brain" has existed in some form since the 1700s [3] and been remarked on even in the American Journal of Medicine [4]. It's pretty common for people's viewpoint to change with age. [1] [VIDEO] [2] [LINK] [3] [LINK] [4] [LINK]

@lilsoso2024 · in “Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate”

Not according to Marc Andreessen & Ben Horowitz [1], Chamath Palihapitiya & David Sacks [2], possibly Zuckerberg [3], and others. And of course Elon, Thiel. Many such cases. [1] [VIDEO] [2] [LINK] [3] [LINK]

@lazyeye2025 · in “White House prepares order targeting banks for "unbanking" for political reasons”

This was actually a significant problem during the Biden administration. The rules were so vague that de-banking could be used in whatever context the administration found convenient. Apparently many companies were pushed offshore as a result. Andreessen/Horowitz talk about it here [VIDEO]

@fsloth2026 · in “Network of Scottish X accounts go dark amid Iran blackout”

He explains their pivot with Ben to GOP in this podcast episode. The main argument was that democrats policies were detrimental to their business. [VIDEO] Mr. Andreessen has been involved with high level politics for a long time. This is not "random radicalization". I will not comment on the quality of the politics but it feels fairly deliberate.