‘Trump would be a disaster for innovation’ – Silicon Valley

15 Jul 2016

Silicon Valley leaders slammed Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in an open letter that is scathing in its criticism of his attitude towards inclusion, cooperation and innovation.

Donald Trump is not a popular man within the tech circles dominating Silicon Valley and influencing many parts of the world.

As he speeds towards securing the Republican party nomination as their candidate for the US presidency, Trump’s confrontational style – and relentless production of inflammatory statements – has provoked ire around the world, with some closer to home similarly not amused.

In a post on Medium – signed by almost 150 major names in the tech industry – the criticism was flowing, with Trump’s attitude not tallying with the authors’ beliefs in an inclusive US.

“He campaigns on anger, bigotry, fear of new ideas and new people, and a fundamental belief that America is weak and in decline,” they wrote.

“We have listened to Donald Trump over the past year and we have concluded: Trump would be a disaster for innovation.”

Claiming Trump is against open dialogue, free movement of people, and engagement with the outside world, the authors detail the layers of innovation under threat should he become US president.

The post was signed by the likes of Steve Wozniak (co-founder of Apple), Trevor Noah (co-founder of Cultivated Wit and host of The Daily Show), Ev Williams (co-founder of Medium), David Karp (founder of Tumblr), Jimmy Wales (founder of Wikipedia) and Alexis Ohanian (co-founder of Reddit).

“We stand against Donald Trump’s divisive candidacy and want a candidate who embraces the ideals that built America’s technology industry: freedom of expression, openness to newcomers, equality of opportunity, public investments in research and infrastructure, and respect for the rule of law.

“We embrace an optimistic vision for a more inclusive country, where American innovation continues to fuel opportunity, prosperity and leadership.”

Image of Donald Trump via Joseph Sohm/Shutterstock

Gordon Hunt was a journalist with Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com