• Silicon Valley leaders have been weighing in loudly on the upcoming presidential race. Over four hundred venture capitalists and other tech executives recently signed a pledge to support Vice President Kamala Harris, while some prominent holdouts like Tesla CEO Elon Musk are backing former President Donald Trump. To learn more about the tech figures getting involved in this election and precisely what’s at stake for them in the 2024 election, we spoke with New York Times business journalist Erin Griffith.
• And in headlines: the United States and Russia complete a major prisoner swap, Israel says it killed the head of the Hamas military in July, the Senate blocks a bill that would’ve expanded the child tax credit, and an incredible comeback from Team USA’s Simone Biles.

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TRANSCRIPT

Juanita Tolliver: It’s Friday, August 2nd. I’m Juanita Tolliver. 

Priyanka Aribindi: And I’m Priyanka Aribindi and this is What a Day, the show where we are thrilled to report that since Kamala Harris has entered the presidential race, Donald Trump’s net worth has plummeted by $900 million. 

Juanita Tolliver: Oh, my God, that’s my favorite song. Apparently, people were investing in Truth Social as a hedge that Trump would win in 2024, but now they’re just jumping ship. 

Priyanka Aribindi: You know what would be even better than this, though? Is just if–

Juanita Tolliver: What? 

Priyanka Aribindi: –more people kept doing it, like, just let’s make it a billion. 

Juanita Tolliver: Yeah. 

Priyanka Aribindi: Why not? 

Juanita Tolliver: Let’s go, let’s go. [laughing] [music break] On today’s show, at least 24 prisoners were released during a multi-country prisoner exchange. Plus, the Senate rejected a bill to expand the child tax credit. 

Priyanka Aribindi: But first, Silicon Valley leaders have been weighing in loudly on the upcoming presidential race. This week, over 400 venture capitalists and other tech executives voiced their support for Vice President Kamala Harris, signing on to a pledge on the website VCsforKamala.org. Prominent names on that list include LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and billionaire businessman turned Shark Tank star Mark Cuban. However, there are still several influential tech figures backing former President Donald Trump. That’s actually quite different than in years past, when this industry has been very well known for backing Democratic candidates. But there is a large faction backing Republicans and right wingers this time around, the most notable of whom is, of course, X owner and Tesla CEO, Elon Musk. 

Juanita Tolliver: Yeah, emphasis on vocal because he’s made his allegiance very clear. Earlier this week, Musk shared an AI doctored video of Vice President Kamala Harris in a post to X that may have violated his company’s own guidelines because it wasn’t clearly labeled as a parody video. 

Priyanka Aribindi: Yeah. Not good. And I mean, to add on to things going on in his own company, organizers behind the White Dudes for Harris fundraising group have accused Musk of temporarily suspending the group’s account on X. Musk and the company haven’t commented on whether he was directly responsible for that. Silicon Valley is also represented on the Republican ticket itself. Donald Trump’s VP pick, Ohio Senator JD Vance, actually spent time working as a junior venture capitalist before entering politics. He was mentored by Peter Thiel, the influential PayPal co-founder who was also an early investor in Facebook, and has been bankrolling Republican candidates for quite some time now. To dig further into all these tech figures getting involved in politics and precisely what’s at stake for them in this election. I spoke earlier with Erin Griffith, who covers tech companies in Silicon Valley for The New York Times. And she started by telling me about the issues that matter most to these industry leaders this election cycle. 

Erin Griffith: What I think is really interesting about this cycle is in the past, the tech industry has been a little bit of a monolith in terms of the issues. It’s just been one issue that is top of mind for everyone in tech, and that’s immigration, because, you know, high skilled immigration is so important to tech companies who are trying to hire the best talent um that they can from all over the world. And so that has been the kind of like only, you know, uniting issue over the last, I would say, decade plus in the tech industry. But that has really changed in, you know, I would say the last decade or the last maybe eight years since 2016, but especially in the last four years, in part because the tech industry has become so enormous and powerful and just, you know, kind of in every part of our lives. And as a result, you know, regulators are scrutinizing the tech industry a lot more. And so um this is an industry that has always enjoyed being lightly regulated or, you know, wished for no regulation. And so that change has not been very welcome. And that has driven a lot of the most prominent people in the tech industry, particularly the investors in the tech startups, to, you know, become a lot more politically active because they really don’t like that regulation. And they don’t just they just don’t like the scrutiny either. They don’t like being the villain. And so I think that is what’s driving some of the political engagement that we’ve, that we’ve seen in this cycle, uh which has been a lot louder and and rowdier and more vitriolic in a way than, than in the past. 

Priyanka Aribindi: I want to zero in on Elon Musk. Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk was planning to donate around $45 million a month to a pro-Trump superPAC. He denied that report, but says that he did create a superPAC. What details do we know about that at this time? 

Erin Griffith: Yeah, so this PAC has been around and he has said that he’s a co-founder of it. So, I mean, we know that he’s at least involved. We know he’s probably giving money to it. We don’t know how much. And $45 million a month is a lot. But when you’re worth as much as Elon Musk, it’s like, actually, maybe not that much. I mean, the America PAC, you know, we’re learning a lot more about it from some of the reporting that some of my colleagues are doing. But we know that, you know, some of Elon’s friends who are definitely right leaning are involved, including Joe Lonsdale, who’s um one of the co-founders of Palantir and a venture capital investor who’s definitely um, very right wing. Um. We know that they have hired some people from the DeSantis world and that they’ve spent a lot of money so far on voter turnout efforts. But uh, beyond that, it’s a little bit murky. 

Priyanka Aribindi: Definitely. And I want to talk about the other side now. How is the entrance of Vice President Kamala Harris into this race, kind of changed things from the perspective of some of these tech executives and investors. Tell us more about what’s happening since she entered the race. 

Erin Griffith: Yeah, I mean, that was a huge game changer. Obviously, people were just not excited about Biden at all. And I think, you know, there’s a series of announcements and and the debate and all of that just was really disheartening to people on the left. They weren’t saying much because there they there wasn’t anything to get excited about. And then, you know, when Biden stepped down, I think that just changed everything. And people got so excited. And now you’re seeing this, like sort of outpouring of support and enthusiasm for Vice President Harris. One thing that I think I’ve observed in a lot of conversations is people were kind of like silently seething almost about all of these announcements in favor of Trump. And that’s leading to headlines saying Silicon Valley is turning rightward. And there’s a lot of people that disagree with that. And were not, you know, on board with that. And they were really like resentful of that. And so now they’re finally eager to to show by signing these letters, by doing zoom calls, by donating money, or even just by tweeting to say like, hey, listen. Not everyone in Silicon Valley is shifting to the right. We’re super excited about uh Vice President Harris. And I’ll just say, I’ve said, I’ve heard from a lot of people that they’re hoping for, like kind of a reset, even though obviously Harris is going to carry on a lot of the same policies that Joe Biden put in place. I think people are hoping that some of the more hostile stances that the Biden administration took uh toward the tech industry, that maybe they can, like, soften those. I just saw Reid Hoffman on TV the other day, talking about how he hopes that Vice President Harris will fire Lina Khan and replace her with, you know, somebody who’s a little bit less radical on um antitrust enforcement because obviously, you know, he’s on the board of Microsoft and Microsoft has been facing a lot of problems with acquisitions they are trying to do and their investment in open AI, they’re being scrutinized constantly. Um. Not to mention any company that an investor like Hoffman would put money into. If they want to sell to a bigger company, there’s going to be scrutiny on those deals. So, you know, she is not popular in Silicon Valley for obvious reasons. And I think maybe they’re hoping that a Harris administration could be a little bit, um friendlier to tech than a Biden administration. 

Priyanka Aribindi: Yeah. And, you know, speaking of the tech industry itself, very notably, Donald Trump’s running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, worked in Silicon Valley for about five years. How do you think his ties to the industry kind of factored into his selection for the GOP ticket, and how has that been received so far? 

Erin Griffith: Yeah, I mean, people on the right who already supported Trump are obviously ecstatic about that. Like you said, five years is is not that long. Honestly, it’s not even long enough to know if you’re good at being a VC because the funds are ten go in ten year cycles, and it kind of takes a full decade for you to know if your investments are panning out. Um. And he was at three different firms too. So he was really embraced by the kind of like tech elite because they were fascinated by his story, his book, his ambition. Um. I think some people were surprised when he kind of took a little bit of a Maga turn after Peter Thiel took him under his wing and helped him on his uh Senate race. So, yeah, there there’s a sense of like, well, does he really represent us? His he the VC candidate that we want? And then there’s people that, you know, are supporting him and super excited to have someone who’s understands their business and their, their business incentives potentially in the White House. But but one other thing I’ll just add is that it’s a little confusing because he has called for, you know, breaking up big tech and Trump has called for putting Mark Zuckerberg in jail. And so, you know, it’s not going to be a clean win necessarily? 

Priyanka Aribindi: That was my conversation with Erin Griffith, a tech reporter for The New York Times. 

Juanita Tolliver: We’ll get to some headlines in a moment, but if you like our show, make sure to subscribe and share with your friends. We’ll be back after some ads. [music break]

[AD BREAK]  

Juanita Tolliver: Let’s get to some headlines. 

[sung] Headlines. 

Juanita Tolliver: The United States completed a prisoner swap that involved Russia, Germany, Turkey and several other countries on Thursday. After more than a year in Russian detention, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich returned to the U.S. as part of the deal. Journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelen, and activist Vladimir Kara-Murza were also freed in the swap. President Biden spoke about the deal from the White House on Thursday, surrounded by family members of the former detainees. 

[clip of President Joe Biden] This is an incredible relief for all the family members gathered here and it’s a relief to the friends and colleagues all across the country who have been praying for this day for a long time. The deal that made this possible was a feat of diplomacy and friendship. Friendship. 

Juanita Tolliver: At least 24 prisoners were released as part of the deal. That includes one Russian citizen who had been serving a life sentence in Germany for the assassination of a Chechen dissident. The deal is the largest prisoner swap between the U.S. and Russia since the end of the Soviet Union. Mark Fogel, the American teacher who was detained in Russia for marijuana possession in 2021, was not included in this prisoner exchange and remains in Russian custody. 

Priyanka Aribindi: I’m really happy for the family, all of these people who have been released and of course–

Juanita Tolliver: Right. 

Priyanka Aribindi: –their families. But, um yeah, we need to get everybody home. That is scary. There are new details in the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh. Haniyeh was killed in Iran on Wednesday by a bomb that had been hidden two months earlier, according to multiple sources interviewed by The New York Times. Axios went even further, reporting that members of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad planted the bomb, choosing a room in a government residence where the agents knew that Haniyeh stayed during his visits to Tehran. Iran blames Israel for the killing and has vowed to retaliate. In other news out of the region, Israel took credit on Thursday for the killing of Mohammad Deif, the head of the Hamas military, in a July airstrike. Deif is considered to be one of the main architects of the October 7th attacks. The airstrike that Israel says targeted Deif killed 90 people in total, according to the Gaza Health ministry. So far, Hamas has not confirmed or denied Deif’s death. 

Juanita Tolliver: On Thursday Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and 33 Senate Democrats introduced the No Kings Act. If passed, the legislation would prevent presidents from being granted immunity for crimes committed while in office. It’s a direct response to the Supreme Court’s recent immunity ruling, which gave incredibly broad protections to former President Donald Trump, as well as any future presidents who commit crimes from the White House. Here’s Schumer speaking Thursday from the Senate floor. 

[clip of Chuck Schumer] All of us in school were taught that there are no kings in America, no kings in America. But one month ago, the MAGA Supreme Court effectively placed a crown over Donald Trump’s head. 

Juanita Tolliver: And in other Senate news, Majority Leader Schumer also forced a vote on a bill that would have expanded the child tax credit while restoring some tax cuts to big businesses. Three Republicans did vote in favor of the legislation, while Independents Joe Manchin and Bernie Sanders opposed the bill. Schumer brought it to the floor, in part to counter the recent messaging from Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, that Democrats are anti-family. 

Priyanka Aribindi: And wrapping up with your daily USA gymnastics update from the Paris Olympics, the event that made us all subscribe to Peacock or borrow a distant relatives Xfinity password happened on Thursday. It was the women’s all around gymnastics competition and the return of the most decorated American gymnast of all time, Simone Biles. Biles became even more decorated on Thursday by winning gold for her mind blowing routine. This is the perfect comeback after she had to withdraw from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics for the sake of her mental health, and considered never participating in competitive gymnastics again. Biles is definitely back and at age 27, is apparently the oldest Olympics all around champ since 1952, which is inspiring, but also, you know, not great to hear the word old and 27 in the same sentence. I don’t love that. Also, the women’s all around team USA, Suni Lee, took home bronze for an incredible performance. Her achievement was made more significant because it followed a year in which she was diagnosed with two rare kidney diseases. And lastly, moving from the mat to the pool, Katie Ledecky is now the most decorated American woman in Olympic history, after the U.S. team won silver in the four by 200 meter free relay, Australia took home the gold. I don’t know, that rivalry between the Australians. 

Juanita Tolliver: Instant eye roll. 

Priyanka Aribindi: I know, the Austrailians and the Americans in the pool gets me fired up. I’m I’m in it, but very exciting all around for all of these incredible athletes. Just another electric day at the Paris Olympics. 

Juanita Tolliver: Yeah, I also appreciate Katie Ledecky waving to the little girl who just fell all over herself. 

Priyanka Aribindi: So cute. 

Juanita Tolliver: And with joy afterwards. But shout out to Simone Biles, Sunisa Lee, and Rebecca Andrade of Brazil for their performances in the all around. I do appreciate that Biles or Simone was very clear that Rebecca was very close, and she she felt stressed about this competition and did not like it.

Priyanka Aribindi: I loved I loved that the announcers were like, yeah, Rebecca is like her biggest, like I think it was on beam or something. Rebecca is her biggest competition. And then you can hear Simone in the background being like, you got this! 

Juanita Tolliver: You got it!

Priyanka Aribindi: Like cheering for her. And it’s like, they have such a great they’ve built such a great culture around–

Juanita Tolliver: Yes. 

Priyanka Aribindi: –their competition and their sport. It’s amazing to watch. And this just shows continues to show that um, as the saying goes, everyone watches women’s sports. 

Juanita Tolliver: Period. 

Priyanka Aribindi: And those are the headlines. 

[AD BREAK]

Juanita Tolliver: That’s all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, pretend you didn’t hear someone who’s 27 being repeatedly referred to as old, and tell your friends to listen. 

Priyanka Aribindi: And if you are into reading and not just the names of all of the Americans bringing home medals like me, What a Day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at crooked.com/subscribe. I’m Priyanka Aribindi.

Juanita Tolliver: I’m Juanita Tolliver.

[spoken together] And we bow down to Simone Biles. 

Priyanka Aribindi: Forever. 

Juanita Tolliver: 100%. 

Juanita Tolliver: Like I just I’m so obsessed with just her talent and her ability to just come back like this–

Priyanka Aribindi: She just like–

Juanita Tolliver: –in a massive way. 

Priyanka Aribindi: No one does it like her. It is unbelievable. She just gets so much air on everything she does. And you are like, you are literally defying gravity. I don’t understand, it’s amazing. 

Juanita Tolliver: Every time. [music break]

Priyanka Aribindi: What a Day is a production of Crooked Media. This episode was recorded and mixed by Peter Geiser. Our associate producer is Raven Yamamoto. We had production help today from Ethan Oberman, Jon Millstein, Greg Walters, and Julia Claire. Our showrunner is Erica Morrison and our executive producer is Adriene Hill. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kashaka.