Marc Benioff has been known for some time as San Francisco’s billionaire with liberal leanings, the tech leader who gave money to services for the homeless, made donations to the city’s schools, and held fundraising events for Hillary Clinton.
However, in a recent, extensive phone interview with the New York Times while on his private plane, Benioff showed a political change that appeared to even take his own communications staff by surprise, even though Salesforce has many deals with the federal government.
The Salesforce creator announced he was in “full support” of President Trump and suggested that National Guard soldiers should monitor San Francisco streets. He spoke enthusiastically about being across from Trump at a state dinner at Windsor Castle, telling the president how thankful he was for everything he was doing. He complimented Elon Musk’s work to improve government efficiency and stated that he had not been closely following updates on immigration raids or Trump’s criticism of the media.
The conversation, which lasted 50 minutes, reportedly concluded after Benioff looked at his public relations manager, apparently seeing her reaction. He could be heard asking, “What about the political questions? Too much?”
While Benioff’s change reflects Silicon Valley’s greater acceptance of Trump, the discussion provided a unique look at how significant that change can be. The main question now is: will other tech CEOs in the Bay Area follow Benioff and request federal troops in their area?
