Billionaire investor Peter Thiel says that Trump will win a second term - 'if he runs again'
- On Thursday, influential tech mogul Peter Thiel predicted that President Trump will win the 2020 election if he decides to run for office.
- In a candid conversation with journalist Maria Bartiomo, Thiel explained his longtime support for the Republican candidate: "[He has] a willingness to challenge some of the...politically correct orthodoxies in our country."
PayPal cofounder and billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel was one of President Donald Trump's biggest Silicon Valley backers during the 2016 election. Now, he's predicting a second term for Trump - should he decide to run.
"I think that if he runs again, he will get relected," Thiel said. "He'll make a judgement. If he thinks he will win, he will run."
Trump has already begun staffing up his reelection campaign for the 2020 election.
Thiel's remarks came during a fireside chat at the Economic Club of New York on Thursday, moderated by journalist Maria Bartiromo.
Initially, Thiel dodged Bartiomo's questioning on the prospect of a Trump victory in 2020. "I'm not sure I can speculate on this any better than anyone here," Thiel said and went on to describe the outcome of the 2020 election as "a much trickier one."
While Thiel's support for Trump has divided employees and leadership at some Silicon Valley's most influential companies, Thiel said that his libertarian political leanings should come as a surprise to no one.
"I thought that supporting Trump was one of the least contrarian things I've ever done[...]" he said. "Perhaps the single thing I saw in President Trump and that I still think is terrific is his willingness to challenge some of the...politically correct orthodoxies in our country."