Megadonor who supported Trump in 2020 flips to throw his weight behind Florida governor – but admits he’s worried he is focusing too much on ‘woke’
- Thiel said this week that he will ‘strongly’ support Ron DeSantis in 2024 after previously backing former President Donald Trump
- Warned the Florida governor against leaning in too much on anti-woke agenda
- ‘I do worry that focusing on the woke issue as ground zero is not quite enough’
Peter Thiel said he would support Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis if he makes it to the general election in 2024.
The strong sign of support for DeSantis is a flip from his previous backing of Donald Trump as the former president continues to levy insults and attacks against his could-be opponent.
DeSantis has not yet announced a bid for the White House in 2024, but is expected to do so in the next few months as he continues to traverse the nation on his book tour sharing his ‘Florida Blueprint’ with America.
Thiel warned DeSantis, however, not to lean too much into the fight against leftist ‘woke-ism’.
People close to Thiel told Reuters last month that the billionaire Republican megadonor was not planning to wade into the waters of the 2024 election.
However, his comments this week are to the contrary of that.
The individuals also noted that Thiel is becoming increasingly dissatisfied by the shift in the party to focusing on attacking ‘woke’ ideology.
‘I think DeSantis would make a terrific president if he’s the Republican nominee,’ Thiel said on the Honesty with Bari Weiss podcast this week. ‘I will strongly support him in 2024.
‘But I do worry that focusing on the woke issue as ground zero is not quite enough,’ he added. ‘The focus on identity politics, on the woke religion, is probably a distraction from stagnation. It’s a distraction from economics.’
The warning could be hard for the Florida governor to heed considering he has made the fight on woke a cornerstone of his agenda.
