[kcplate]

> You stop here as if to assume this is enough info to prove his productivity was undesirable, and that everyone will understand…

Everyone seems to forget how problematic the Democrat’s nominees were in 2016 and 2020. Support for Trump is not necessary hard to understand for someone like Thiel when the alternatives were Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden. Both candidates were well saturated with scandal, both openly dabbled in pay to play, and both pretty openly hostile to libertarian ideas (although I think Trump was as well, albeit selectively).

[ksec]

Not an expert on US politics. I believe Thiel supported other republican candidate before he switched to Trump?

[kcplate]

He did/does. However, I thought the complaint was that his judgement should be questioned because he supported Trump specifically, not republicans generally. If the complaint is that “he supports republicans, so don’t trust him.” That complaint is simply generically partisan. At least for me, general partisanship or party alignment doesn’t sway my opinion of an individual.

Trump is divisive and an atypical republican, so I can certainly see how someone supporting him could raise an eyebrow to folks with conventional political wisdom, even if I understand why someone like Thiel would support him.