Peter Thiel: Donald Trump "Still Better" Than Clinton Or "The Republican Zombies"

In what appears to be his second New York Times profile in the span of a year, Peter Thiel, the PayPal founder, Facebook board member and venture capitalist, defends his support for President Donald Trump, saying that although Trump hadn't yet followed through with everything he'd promised (notably Trump has made no effort to reduce American involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan) he's still been way better than Clinton or a moderate Republican would've been.

Thiel, who recently decided to move his company and his primary place of residence to Los Angeles to avoid the "groupthink" in Silicon Valley, told the Times that he's support for the president is undiminished, and that he still has access to Trump, whom he famously impressed with his speech at the Republican National Convention, "any time I want."

The investor said he had last spoken to the president "a few months ago."

"We don't talk that often but i have access to him any time I want," Thiel said.

The Trump whom Mr. Thiel touted at the Republican convention was a candidate who would "end the era of stupid wars and rebuild our country," move us past "fake culture wars" and start projects the equivalent of the Apollo space program. That does not seem ot be the president he got.

"There are all these ways that things have fallen short," Mr. Thiel said. But he said he had no regrets about his endorsement. "It's still better than Hillary Clinton or the Republican zombies," he said, referring to the other candidates.

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