With only 22 days left until Americans cast their votes for president, a solitary leader in the tech industry has reportedly decided to drop more than $1 million into the Trump campaign piggy bank.
Peter Thiel, the venture capitalist and co-founder of both Palantir and PayPal, is opening his wallet (paywall) to the tune of $1.25 million for Trump, according to the New York Times. The contribution comes as Trump’s campaign falters, after the release of a 2005 video in which Trump was caught bragging about sexually assaulting women. In recent weeks, at least nine women from Trump’s past have stepped forward with accusations against the Republican candidate.
Many high-profile Republican figures have withdrawn their support from his campaign, but the video and accusations don’t appear to have fazed Thiel. The investor also spoke at the Republican National Convention in July, when Trump was nominated. He did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Thiel is one of few tech sector figures to openly support Trump. Most of Silicon Valley has been leery of the candidate, who called for a boycott on Apple products, attacked Amazon founder Jeff Bezos on the campaign trail, and strongly denounced free trade agreements touted by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA).