Harris has been taking large sums of money from a Silicon Valley oligarch who demands a removal of tariffs and an end to antitrust cases against Big Tech.
Hoffman asked for two specific policy changes. The first was removing Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Lina Khan from her position, the goal being to put an end to the interventionist posture against Big Tech and corporate consolidation that the agency has adopted under her leadership. The second was ending the Trump-Biden tariffs. Hoffman’s comments reflect Wall Street’s and Silicon Valley’s revulsion for populist Bidenites: not just Khan, but also the likes of Jonathan Kanter, the antitrust chief at the Department of Justice, and Rohit Chopra, the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
“Today, the workers in industrialized and de-industrialized areas that you need to win the election want tariffs,” he said. “Biden neutralized that with his pro-tariff agenda. But the problem isn’t gone. It’s far worse, especially with Chinese EVs on deck. Harris needs to understand that money doesn’t vote. And Silicon Valley votes don’t matter. Votes in Kenosha do.”
When Clinton accepted speaking honorariums from Wall Street banks and Barack Obama promoted the Trans-Pacific Partnership, they created a vulnerability that Trump skillfully exploited. “Trump ran on the idea that the Democratic Party is fake, that it pretends to have these worker-friendly policies but is operating on behalf of the wealthy. He essentially said, ‘I’m real. I’m a mess, but I’m real.’” Harris is inviting a similar risk by associating with Hoffman.
Neither candidate is where the voters are, with economic questions far more important than winning the culture war or saving democracy. The race is still early. Nevertheless, Hoffman and his billionaire circle are making an aggressive play to set the tone of the 2024 race, demanding that she turn the clock back on the pre-Trump consensus Democrats left behind under Biden. Harris should decline their invitation.
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