July 24, 2024 • 25min

Rapid Response: Reid Hoffman on the business impacts of Trump vs. Harris

Masters of Scale

Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn and partner at Greylock, discusses his views on the 2024 presidential race and the divide in Silicon Valley over support for Trump vs. Biden/Harris. As a prominent voice bridging business and politics, Hoffman offers insights into why he supports the Democratic ticket and how he sees the stakes of this election for American business and democracy.

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Key Takeaways

Reid Hoffman believes stability, unity and rule of law are the most important factors for business, more so than specific regulations or tax rates
Many CEOs are deeply concerned about the chaos and division Trump represents, even traditionally Republican business leaders
Hoffman sees the 2024 election as fundamentally about upholding the rule of law, given Trump's actions around January 6th
He argues Trump would be disqualified from running any public company given his track record
Hoffman encourages CEOs to articulate support for fundamental democratic principles without being overtly partisan
He believes Kamala Harris can use her limited time to articulate new ideas and vision, using startup principles of moving quickly
Hoffman sees AI as a key issue and believes Harris brings "young, curious vigor" to discussions around AI policy

Introduction

Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn and partner at Greylock, discusses his views on the 2024 presidential race and the divide in Silicon Valley over support for Trump vs. Biden/Harris. As a prominent voice bridging business and politics, Hoffman offers insights into why he supports the Democratic ticket and how he sees the stakes of this election for American business and democracy.

Topics Discussed

Support for Biden/Harris (02:44)

Hoffman explains his quick support for Kamala Harris after Biden stepped aside:

He sees Harris as an "excellent candidate" who is additive to Biden's strengths
Harris has already gone through national vetting as a presidential candidate
As a prosecutor, she offers a compelling contrast to Trump's legal issues
Many other potential candidates quickly endorsed Harris as well

Hoffman frames the election as fundamentally about upholding the rule of law, stating: "Actually, in fact, trying to overturn an election with an insurrection on January 6 is bad. Actually, following the laws of the nation is actually key. And I think that's one of the things that Kamala brings to the picture."

Divisions in Silicon Valley (05:14)

Hoffman discusses the split in Silicon Valley between Trump and Biden/Harris supporters:

Silicon Valley has rarely been unified behind one candidate
He finds support for Trump "strange" given Trump's anti-business policies like tariffs
Some support may be driven by single issues like crypto regulation
Many previous Trump supporters abandoned him after January 6th

Hoffman argues stability and rule of law matter most for business: "What I think people don't realize is that stability, unity and rule of law is the most important thing for business. You know, it isn't a question of, like, corporate taxes going up or down by a percentage or an additional regulation or two."

Role of Business Leaders in Politics (11:10)

Hoffman reflects on his own prominent role speaking out on politics:

It's "very strange" for him as he's more comfortable as a tech innovator and investor
He feels compelled to be more vocal given the stakes around rule of law
He argues Trump would be disqualified from running any public company

On how CEOs should approach political speech:

CEOs should avoid explicitly partisan statements that could alienate employees/customers
They can articulate support for fundamental democratic principles
Board members have more freedom to speak as individuals

Hoffman notes: "Many of them [CEOs] are traditionally deeply republican. They're the business of America is business. The government should get out of the way of businesses, creating jobs and industry. And they are still kind of deeply concerned about the way that Trump and his folks run their elections."

Harris Campaign Strategy (21:57)

Hoffman offers advice for the Harris campaign based on startup principles:

Use the limited 100 day timeframe as a "feature not a bug"
Articulate new ideas and vision quickly rather than being overly deliberative
Focus on what she uniquely brings as different from Biden

He suggests: "She's going to have to do this in a quick and good versus long deliberative and perfect and the blitz scaling idea that it's better to have something imperfect and out there be embarrassed by your first product. Does that apply in politics?"

AI and Tech Policy (19:52)

On Harris's approach to AI and tech:

Harris attended the UK AI safety meeting in November 2023
She emphasized potential benefits like medical assistants and tutors
Also focused on need for guardrails around issues like racial bias
Hoffman sees her as bringing "young, curious vigor" to AI discussions

Hoffman notes: "Vice president Harris showed up at the UK AI safety meeting in last November. So she's active and thinking about it. And so her contributions in the meeting were, hey, there can be all these great things that are created by AI, medical assistants, tutors, et cetera. That's really good. And we just need to make sure that we're bringing all of society along and doing the right kind of guardrails to make sure that the bad potential things, whether it's kind of racial bias or enshrining the power of the already powerful, are carefully navigated."

VP Pick and Campaign Strategy (24:30)

On Harris's potential VP pick:

Hoffman has ideas but won't share publicly out of respect for Harris
He sees his role as supporting the candidate, not second-guessing

On overall campaign strategy:

Many options still "game on" beyond just VP pick
Harris has opportunity to articulate her unique vision
Campaign needs to move quickly rather than seeking perfection

Conclusion

Reid Hoffman offers a unique perspective as a prominent voice in both Silicon Valley and Democratic politics. He frames the 2024 election as fundamentally about preserving the rule of law and argues that stability and democratic norms are ultimately more important for business than any specific policy positions. While acknowledging the political divisions in tech, Hoffman believes many business leaders, even traditional Republicans, are deeply concerned about Trump's impact on American institutions.

Hoffman encourages the Harris campaign to move quickly in articulating a vision, using startup principles of rapid iteration. He sees Harris as well-positioned to engage on key issues like AI policy. Overall, Hoffman's comments reflect his view that the stakes of this election go beyond normal partisan divides to core questions of American democracy and the long-term business environment.