Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance is begging his billionaire former boss Peter Thiel to bankroll his bid for the White House.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Vance made no secret about how much he has been “talking to Peter and persuading him” to donate to former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign as he falls behind Vice President Kamala Harris in funding.
“You know he’s obviously been exhausted by politics a little bit,” Vance told the Times about the PayPal co-founder. “But he’s going to be really exhausted by politics if we lose and if Kamala Harris is president.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Thiel is connected to Vance’s successful Ohio Senate race win over Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan in 2022. Thiel has also been credited for single-handedly funding Republican Blake Masters’ failed 2022 run for Arizona Senate to the tune of a reported $15 million.
Both Masters and Vance are Thiel’s former employees and have been touted as his protégés. Thiel was Vance’s boss at Mithril Capital venture capital fund in California, and then Thiel backed Vance’s Narya Capital before he decided to run for office.
Vance has previously referred to Thiel as a “pretty good mentor,” but he knows Thiel has been an even better donor.
After donating a reported $1.25 million to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, Thiel expressed that he had been less than impressed by Trump’s presidency and announced that he had no plans to give “any money to Republican politicians in 2024.”
In a June interview at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Thiel said, “If you hold a gun to my head I’ll vote for Trump.”
However, Thiel told The Atlantic in November last year, “there’s always a chance I might change my mind.”
Vance said he is being persistent in “talking to Peter and persuading him.”
During his recent campaign stop in Wisconsin, Vance commented that Thiel is a “fundamentally a conservative guy.” He added, “I think that he needs to get off the sidelines and support the ticket.”
