In stark contrast to the huge meltdown that followed Donald Trump’s first presidential win in 2016, the tech industry’s reaction to his 2024 victory has been notably subdued.
The New York Times reports that eight years ago, when Donald Trump first assumed office, Silicon Valley was up in arms. Tech giants like Facebook, Google, and others loudly protested the new administration’s controversial policies. CEOs and founders, including Mark Zuckerberg, Sergey Brin, and Sundar Pichai, publicly expressed their opposition and joined rallies alongside their employees.
In 2018, Breitbart News exclusively published leaked video from a Google employee meeting in which executives cried and shared their personal outrage at Trump’s video. Notably, Google co-founder Sergey Brin compares Trump supporters to fascists in an early test run of the attacks against MAGA supporters to come over the next eight years.
However, the scene could not have been more different following the 2024 presidential election. Despite Trump’s return to the White House, the extreme leftist workforces of the biggest tech companies remained relatively quiet. While the decisive nature of the election likely played a role in this muted response, it also reflects a concerted effort by executives to curb employee activism in recent years.
In the lead-up to the 2024 election, tech companies implemented various measures to minimize political discord within their ranks. These included policies restricting dialogue on sensitive topics, monitoring internal chat channels, and pledges from leadership to avoid weighing in on issues that had previously galvanized activist employees. The goal was clear: to prevent a repeat of the widespread protests and walkouts that had disrupted operations and damaged public perceptions in the past.
The effectiveness of these measures was put to the test in the aftermath of Trump’s victory. Surprisingly, the reactions on company message boards and forums were subdued, with no signs of the large-scale mobilization that had characterized the 2016 election. On a companywide Google forum, for instance, an employee simply posted an American flag with a note expressing support for their American colleagues, garnering over 1,000 likes from fellow employees.
This shift in tone reflects a growing recognition among tech executives that allowing unbridled political activism can be detrimental to their businesses. In an increasingly polarized climate, taking strong partisan stances risks alienating customers, investors, and policymakers across the political spectrum. Moreover, the internal divisions and distractions caused by employee activism can undermine productivity, morale, and retention.
Read more at the New York Times here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
