Tech Billionaires Buy Trump's Future, Public Gets the Bill
Bloomberg hails Donald Trump's $102 million war chest, fattened by Stephen Schwarzman (Blackstone) and OpenAI’s Reid Hoffman (often cited as a co-founder for Inflection AI/LinkedIn, but an early OpenAI board member and venture capitalist) – the usual suspects buying influence for the impending 2026 congressional elections. Hoffman, lauded as a 'Democrat-aligned figure,' apparently finds bipartisan
pockets of comfort when it comes to safeguarding corporate power or, perhaps, ensuring his AI ventures face minimal regulatory hindrance. It's almost as if the 'AI future'—which we're told will either save humanity or enslave it—requires politicians who can be bought for either outcome. One might wonder if these 'contributions' are truly about democratic principles, or if they're simply shrewd
investments in political insurance. The media frames it as strategic fundraising; some of us remember when such colossal sums from corporate titans were called 'buying power.' What innovations in artificial intelligence or financial markets do these donors anticipate will require a particular political alignment? And are we really meant to believe this is about anything other than securing
favorable legislative conditions for their multi-billion dollar empires?