Venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya says 'Trump Derangement Syndrome' blocks people from seeing that many of Trump's policies were solid.
Chamath Palihapitiya, founder and CEO of Social Capital, speaks during the Sohn Investment Conference in New York, on May 8, 2017.
Former President Donald Trump's peace-nurturing policies look "pretty incredible" in the wake of violence erupting in the Middle East, a billionaire Democrat says.
Former President Donald Trump's peace-nurturing policies look "pretty incredible" in the wake of violence erupting in the Middle East, a billionaire Democrat says.
During last week's episode of the All-In Podcast, prominent venture capital investor Chamath Palihapitiya, who previously called the former Republican president "an idiot," says it is time to re-evaluate President Trump's accomplishments.
Commenting just days after Hamas, an Iran-backed terrorist group, invaded Israel and raped, killed, and kidnapped innocent civilians, Mr. Palihapitiya lauded the Trump Administration for its foreign-policy gains.
Labeling himself "a Democrat who has been left 'homeless,' who is now definitely in the center, but probably leaning increasingly Right," Mr. Palihapitiya said that "Trump Derangement Syndrome" has blinded people to the Trump administration's achievements.
"What those guys did was pretty incredible, in hindsight," Mr. Palihapitiya said.
The podcast moderator, fellow tech investor Jason Calacanis, said he's "no fan of Trump" but chimed in: "It's a miracle, actually, when you look at it, what they did."
Mr. Palihapitiya, a former Facebook executive, listed several accomplishments of the former president's team, including brokering the Abraham Accords. That 2020 agreement forged cooperation among Middle Eastern nations that have clashed over investments, tourism, energy, and other key issues.
President Trump's administration made strides toward a peace deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia, Mr. Palihapitiya noted.
'We Killed the Message'President Trump received several Nobel Peace Prize nominations for his foreign-policy efforts.
"To really be able to, like, find long-lasting peace is just a real example for the world," said Mr. Palihapitiya, who was born on the South Asian island of Sri Lanka.
Because of the violence in the Middle East, "this is a moment where you have to start to re-underwrite" the former president's policies and actions, Mr. Palihapitiya said.
Nine months ago, Mr. Palihapitiya called President Trump "an idiot savant, minus the savant" on that same podcast, which he hosts with three well-known friends. That remark was made during a discussion of the former president's legal troubles over his alleged mishandling of documents with classified markings.
Those issues notwithstanding, Mr. Palihapitiya says: "So much of the work that happened in that administration turns out to have been right. And that's what's so frustrating for me."
(L-R) Bahrain Foreign Minister Abdullatif al-Zayani, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. President Donald Trump, and UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan hold up documents after participating in the signing of the Abraham Accords where the countries of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates recognize Israel, at the White House in Washington, on Sept. 15, 2020. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
"The work on the border wall, we didn't like the messenger, so we killed the message. Turned out it was right," he said. Ditto for "issuing long-term debt to refinance when rates were at zero," along with the Trump administration's proposal to restructure the Middle East.
"When are we going to stop shooting ourselves in the foot? And when are we going to actually see and take the time to look past who is saying things and actually listen to...
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