On Wednesday, the reality of Trump 2.0 was just, um, sinking in, leaving many less-outspoken tech leaders with mixed feelings.
Siqi Chen, founder of the finance startup Runway, said that while many of the folks he looks up to in tech supported Trump, he couldn’t get behind him.
“I’m personally excited about Elon being more involved with government, and slimming down the government, and I think this is likely to be a great economic outcome for tech and the economy in general,” Chen said. “I am however very disappointed that the leader of the free world isn’t someone with more integrity, and I am worried about the increasing division that that will cause.”
Eric Bahn, cofounder and general partner at Hustle Fund, said the mood among local VCs is “quite binary — either you’re pleased with the result or you are quite disappointed.”
Regardless of politics, Bahn said VCs are generally feeling relief that the election is over.
“It is time to move on from this toxic period of campaigning and election news,” he said. “It was a distraction, and I think all of us are eager to move forward.”