LinkedIn Co-Founder Takes on Trump, Funds Democratic Causes

Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn, is reportedly funding politicians and political campaigns opposed to President Donald Trump.

Hoffman is reportedly preparing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on causes and campaigns that he believes will directly fight the president’s agenda. Hoffman has already donated to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which has challenged President Trump on a number of his key policy implementations, such as the temporary travel halt earlier this year. Hoffman has also invested in movements such as Win the Future, a group founded by Hoffman and Zynga co-founder Mark Pincus, which aims to rethink the Democratic party’s failing strategy.

Hoffman’s friends have spoken about his concerted efforts to apply the business skills and money he’s earned in the Silicon Valley tech scene to politics. “I’ve seen him spend a huge amount of his mental cycles and time on politically related activities, from helping start new groups to [backing] candidates … and really trying to be thoughtful about how he can contribute to the resistance,” said Sam Altman, the president of tech startup accelerator Y Combinator. “A lot of people are talking about this, but they haven’t been allocating their time and money in the way [Hoffman] has.”

Hoffman discussed his new financial efforts with Recode, saying, “I got past my dismay in November, and in December, started thinking about my responsibility as a citizen.” Hoffman continued to say, “I tend to think when you’ve been lucky and fortunate enough to make some money, you have a position of power, it’s like Spider-Man ethics — with power comes responsibility.”

Hoffman’s funding so far has gone to causes such as Higher Ground Labs, a group consisting of former Obama campaign digital advisers that aim to help the Democrats get their online campaigning locked down. The group also work on testing cutting edge campaign technology to better the Democrat’s 2020 reelection chances. Hoffman also donated $50,000 to Win Virginia, a PAC run by former Democratic Congressman Tom Perriello.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan_ or email him at lnolan@breitbart.com.