Billionaire GOP backer Peter Thiel expressed disappointment with politicians like former President Donald Trump, stating that he may be taking a break from loosening his purse strings for Republicans.
"Voting for Trump was like a not very articulate scream for help," Thiel said in an interview with the Atlantic, adding that Trump ultimately couldn't meet what he calls "low expectations."
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He added that he was "disappointed" and "disenchanted" with the former president.
"There are a lot of things I got wrong," Thiel said. "It was crazier than I thought. It was more dangerous than I thought ... They couldn't get the most basic pieces of the government to work. So that was — I think that part was maybe worse than even my low expectations."
The PayPal co-founder donated to several Republican campaigns during the 2022 midterm elections, with only Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) as one of his few successes. Thiel gave Vance's campaign more than $20 million. Several Trump-endorsed candidates, many of whom Thiel supported, beat out centrist Republicans for the party nomination in 2022 — only to lose to their Democratic opponent.
Following those losses, Thiel said he is done giving money to the Republican Party for now, but said he would not become a "never-Trumper" GOP supporter in the future. He did note that Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election were "not helpful."
"There's always a chance I might change my mind," Thiel said to the Atlantic's Barton Gellman. "But by talking to you, it makes it hard for me to change my mind."
That means candidates like Blake Masters, who lost to Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and received support from Thiel in 2022, will likely miss out on donations from the billionaire in 2024. Masters is running for the House in Arizona's 8th Congressional District.
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Thiel has cause to avoid Masters, specifically, after the Atlantic reported that Trump called Masters to tell him Thiel was a "f****** scumbag."
While not financially getting involved in politics, the billionaire took another step away from Trump in May. He said on the podcast Honestly with Bari Weiss that Gov. Ron Desantis (R-FL) would make a "terrific president," and he would support the governor in 2024.