Venture capitalist admits he 'misjudged' Trump — then he exposes the 'huge gap' between media coverage and the true Trump



Billionaire venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya detailed recently how personally meeting Donald Trump changed his perception of the former president.

Earlier this month, entrepreneur David Sacks hosted a Silicon Valley fundraiser for Trump, raising $12 million. The crowd was full of wealthy tech businessmen and venture capitalists, many of whom Sacks later said were lifelong Democratic voters. Last week, Sacks and Palihapitiya recounted the event on their podcast "All-In."

'There is a huge gap between how the media tries to portray Donald Trump and what he's like when you meet him in person.'

On the podcast, Palihapitiya admitted that he had "misjudged" Trump in the past, and his view of the former president changed after meeting him.

"He is charismatic, he's intellectually sharp, and he's funny. And when you put that together, he can engage an audience for a long time and be totally extemporaneous," Palihapitiya said of Trump.

"The other thing I would say that is, that he is very polite, and he's kind in a way that was disarming and was not what I expected, and so I felt that I had misjudged him many years in the past," he explained. "So, I was very glad that I had an opportunity to sit beside him and to actually interact with him one-on-one — it was really, really engaging."

Palihapitiya explained that his interaction with Trump left a lasting impression, one that exposed the media's false depictions of him.

"I think that there is a huge gap between how the media tries to portray Donald Trump and what he's like when you meet him in person — and that gap is really wide," Palihapitiya said.

Trump, Palihapitiya said, impressed him with his "pro-American" and "pro-innovation" agenda, one that emphasizes "low regulation" and "low taxation." The platform, Palihapitiya added, "does stand very much in contrast with" the Democratic Party's agenda.

Sacks told a similar story.

"President Trump is extremely charming. He connects with people in like five seconds. I mean, he meets you and finds something interesting or funny to say, and he's hilarious," Sacks recounted.

"When he spoke in the living room, and he talked extemporaneously for an hour, he's speaking off-the-cuff. Every speech he gives is different," he explained. "People don't realize how entertaining he is."

Something that especially stood out at the fundraiser, Sacks later said, was Trump's energy level.

"He's someone who's very sharp, very on the ball, very funny, and then his energy level is incredible," Sacks said. "So, he had started his day at Mar-a-Lago at 3:30 a.m. Then, he flew to Arizona, did a Trump rally in Arizona, then he flew to San Francisco for our event. He spent four hours at our event. ... Then, he flew to Los Angeles for more events the next day there. So, think about his day and his energy level was just amazing the whole time."

Earlier this month, Sacks announced his endorsement of Trump.

Sacks explained he decided to support Trump on the basis of Trump's economy performance, his foreign policy record, the border crisis, and lawfare.

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Elon Musk STUNS hosts with brutally honest answer about the future of Twitter



On “The Rubin Report,” BlazeTV host Dave Rubin shared a video clip from Twitter CEO Elon Musk’s surprise appearance on the “All-In" podcast with hosts David Sacks, Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis, and David Friedberg.

Asked about Dave Rubin's observation of the New York Times’ inflated follower counts on Twitter, Musk gave a brutally honest answer about what has been going on behind the scenes at the social media company, what his first six weeks as the CEO have been like, and what new features Twitter users can expect in the near future.

"It's been quite a roller coaster," Musk said. "But overall that seems to be going in a good direction, and, you know, we've got the expenses reasonably under control, so the company's not in the fast lane to bankruptcy anymore, and we're releasing features faster than ever in Twitter's history at the same time as having contained the costs, and we've reduced the cost structure by a factor of three, maybe four."

Musk went on to describe several of the new features to verify user identities and organization affiliations and to eliminate bots or inauthentic accounts. Later in the podcast, he shocked his hosts by stating that "almost every conspiracy theory that people had about Twitter turned out to be true" as they discussed the Twitter Files, a set of reports released to expose Twitter's alleged information suppression and collusion with government agencies prior to Musk's purchase of the company in October 2022.

\u201cElon Musk\n"To be totally frank, almost every conspiracy theory that people had about Twitter turned out to be true."\u201d
— Gretchen \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Gretchen \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1671938456

Watch the video below or find full episodes of "The Rubin Report" here. Can't watch? Download the podcast here.


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NBA exec offers clarification after saying 'nobody cares' about Uyghurs in China, but not an apology



A National Basketball Association executive and co-owner offered a clarification, but not an apology, after being excoriated for saying "nobody cares" about the Uyghurs, a religious group oppressed by the Chinese Communist regime.

Chamath Palihapitiya, part owner of the Golden State Warriors, made the comments on a podcast after being questioned about President Joe Biden's statement about the plight of the Uyghurs.

“Let's be honest, nobody cares about what’s happening to the Uyghurs, OK?" Palihapitiya said forcefully.

The subject has been sensitive for the NBA, who is courting China's massive market as a business opportunity. Some have lambasted the organization for ignoring human rights abuses while regularly haranguing Americans about supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.

"You bring it up 'cause you really care, and I think that's nice that you care," Palihapitiya continued on the podcast. "The rest of us don’t care. I’m just telling you ... a very hard, ugly truth, OK? Of all the things that I care about, yes, it is below my line, OK? ... It is below my line."

Late on Monday, Palihapitiya issued a clarification.

"I recognize that I come across as lacking empathy. I acknowledge that entirely," he tweeted.

"As a refugee, my family fled a country with its own set of human rights issues so this is something that is very much a part of my lived experience," he claimed. "To be clear, my belief is that human rights matter, whether in China, the United States, or elsewhere."

Human Rights Watch researcher Yaqiu Wang criticized the statement.

"What an non-apology," she said. "There is not even a mention of the word 'Uyghur.'"

The team offered its own statement distancing itself from the controversial statement.

“As a limited investor who has no day-to-day operating functions with the Warriors, Mr. Palihapitiya does not speak on behalf of our franchise, and his views certainly don’t reflect those of our organization,” read the statement.

Some noted that the statement from the team also lacked any mention of the word "Uyghur."

Here's more about the controversy:

Billionaire investor Palihapitiya: Comments on Uyghur genocide 'lacked empathy'www.youtube.com

NBA player rips Warriors co-owner for brushing off China's oppression of Uyghurs: 'When genocides happen, it is people like this that let it happen'



It's quite a thing for most Americans, many of who take their extensive freedoms for granted — even as woke politicians and violent leftists have been working hard to snuff them out — to witness someone from another country come to the United States and fall in love with it.

Readers of TheBlaze ought to be familiar with Enes Kanter of the NBA's Boston Celtics. So enamored with the freedoms afforded to U.S. citizens, the center from Turkey became an American citizen himself and even decided to officially change his name to Enes Kanter Freedom to mark the occasion.

And he'd been exercising our First Amendment rights long before that momentous day, boldly speaking out against NBA icons like LeBron James for cozying up to China and ignoring the communist nation's human rights abuses of Uyghurs.

But Freedom hasn't stopped yet.

What now?

Upon hearing the news that Chamath Palihapitiya — an executive and part owner of the NBA's Golden State Warriors — said "nobody cares about what’s happening to the Uyghurs," Freedom took aim Monday at Palihapitiya on Twitter:

When @NBA says we stand for justice, don\u2019t forget there are those who sell their soul for money & business like @chamath the owner of @warriors,\nwho says \u201cNobody cares about what\u2019s happening to the Uyghurs\u201d\n\nWhen genocides happen, it is people\nlike this that let it happen\n\nShame!pic.twitter.com/27j2GxGhCU
— Enes Kanter FREEDOM (@Enes Kanter FREEDOM) 1642439640

"When @NBAsays we stand for justice, don’t forget there are those who sell their soul for money & business like [Palihapitiya] the owner of @warriors, who says 'nobody cares about what’s happening to the Uyghurs.' When genocides happen, it is people like this that let it happen," he posted. "Shame!"

Freedom added in a subsequent tweet that Palihapitiya's "disgusting" comments are "against everything the @nbastands for; I want the #NBA commissioner Adam Silver & @warriors board members to step in and push him to [sell] his shares."

During an "All-In" podcast, Palihapitiya declared, "Of all the things that I care about, yes, [oppression of the Uyghurs] is below my line, OK? ... It is below my line." He soon added that "a segment of a class of people in another country ... is not a priority for me."

How did folks react to the NBA player's stance?

It appears some folks are standing with Freedom's tweet:

  • "Stand against genocide," LifeNews.com replied. "Boycott the Beijing Olympics!"
  • "Embarrassing for the @NBA, especially coming to light on MLK Day," another commenter said. "You would think human rights would be something we all care about."
  • "[Palihapitiya] is a disgusting excuse of a human being to say he doesn't care [about the] Uyghur genocide & [is] standing by the CCP," ," another user noted. "Money, power & greed are the path to hell. Any supporter of @warriors need to denounce him."

But others weren't buying it:

  • "@EnesFreedom, keyboard warriors don’t stop genocides," another commenter said. "What are you doing for the cause? I don’t expect to get a response."
  • "Mr. Freedom you do realize that just because you photoshopped the Nike check off your jersey in your Twitter profile it's still a Nike jersey," another user said. "But I don't blame you for not leaving the league; it's a lot easier just to photoshop the Nike check off the jersey."
  • Another commenter wrote, "To be honest, at least [Palihapitiya is] honest about it and his comment is eye opening. Yes! The west has done nothing for the Uyghurs. All they did was talk talk and made little of it. You know why? Because they simply don’t care, and it is below the line for them! BTW, I am an Uyghur."

NBA team exec and co-owner declares that 'nobody cares about what’s happening to the Uyghurs' — despite China's well-known abuse of their human rights



Chamath Palihapitiya — an executive and part owner of the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association — said that "nobody cares about what’s happening to the Uyghurs," who are victims of China's well-documented human rights abuses.

What else did he say?

Palihapitiya is part of the "All-In" podcast with friends and colleagues Jason Calacanis, David Sacks, and David Friedberg, and they discuss the economy, tech, politics, and other subjects.

In episode 63, posted Saturday to YouTube, Calacanis brought up President Joe Biden's policy on China and said his statement on the Uyghurs was "very strong."

“Let's be honest, nobody cares about what’s happening to the Uyghurs, OK?" Palihapitiya shot back.

"What?" Calacanis retorted in shock. "What do you mean nobody cares?"

"You bring it up 'cause you really care, and I think that's nice that you care," Palihapitiya continued. "The rest of us don’t care. I’m just telling you ... a very hard, ugly truth, OK? Of all the things that I care about, yes, it is below my line, OK? ... It is below my line."

Calacanis called his colleague's stance "disappointing."

Soon Palihapitiya noted a few other issues he does care about, including empty shelves in grocery stores, climate change, that "our economy could turn on a dime" if China invades Taiwan, and America's "crippling and decrepit health care infrastructure."

"But if you're asking me do I care about a segment of a class of people in another country? Not until we can take care of ourselves will I prioritize them over us," Palihapitiya explained, adding that "every time I say that I care about the Uyghurs, I'm really just lying if I don't really care. And so I'd rather not lie to you and tell you the truth. It's not a priority for me."

When Calacanis argued it's a "sad state of affairs" when human rights as a global concept "falls beneath tactical and strategic issues," Palihapitiya replied that such a stance is a "luxury belief."

The Warriors' exec and part owner added that "we don't do enough domestically to actually express that view in real, tangible ways. So until we actually clean up our own house, the idea that we step outside of our borders ... with us sort of like morally virtual signaling about somebody else's human rights track record is deplorable."

E63: Insurrection indictments, human rights in the US and abroad, groundbreaking MS study and moreyoutu.be

Anything else?

China's human rights abuses of the Uyghurs — and in general — not only have been a pretty big headline for a while now, but also it's an issue in professional sports, most notably in the NBA, which covets the communist nation's huge financial stake in the game:

  • Interestingly, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was slammed in August for his silence on human rights abuses in China while complaining about critics of national anthem protests.
  • Last month, legendary sports announcer Bob Costas ripped the NBA, basketball superstar LeBron James, and former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick for their lack of criticism of China's human rights record.
  • A couple of years ago, Hong Kong protesters against China blasted James, saying quizzically that "Martin Luther King Jr. fought for civil rights, but LeBron James supports totalitarianism?" James infamously called out then-Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey for posting a pro-Hong Kong tweet, saying the exec "wasn't educated on the situation at hand" and that while "we all do have freedom of speech ... at times there are ramifications for the negative that can happen." James added that "so many people could have been harmed, not only financially, but physically, emotionally, spiritually, so just be careful what we tweet, what we say, and what we do."
  • By way of contrast, Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter Freedom has been quite critical of China, delivering pro-Tibet remarks, condemning China's oppression of the Uyghurs, and blasting Chinese President Xi Jinping as a "brutal dictator." China removed Celtics games from Chinese TV in October 2021.

Like The NBA, Golden State Warriors Co-Owner ‘Doesn’t Care’ About Uyghur Suffering

Palihapitiya can turn a blind eye to Uyghur suffering in Xinjiang because he knows the China-sympathetic NBA will defend him.