I imagine there is some long-game here. A ploy of some kind. Though I'm not sure how effective or probable it could be. I can imagine a "burn it down" strate

I imagine there is some long-game here. A ploy of some kind. Though I'm not sure how effective or probable it could be. I can imagine a "burn it down" strategem at play. By electing Trump, bet that no outright epic-level disaster will be created, but that ridiculous problems will manifest under such a Presidency so as to bring in to stark relief the maladies of our enormous government and the almost comical inefficacy of our democracy today. Try to springboard from there to the change you hope to create, in being able to say "clearly, our systems are broken. We need a new way forward." Alternatively, can see a plan to dismantle one flailing party as a first step, with a follow-on plan to dismantle the other party subsequently, and thereby open the gate for a third (Libertarian?) party. Alternatively, could see this as a means of stymying to some degree the criticism that SV tech companies and veterans attempt to distort political discourse toward liberalism. "You think Facebook distorts reality in favor of liberalism, and that most tech companies do the same, inadvertently or not? Well, look here! One of the most famous and influential of SV's modern Titans, and a Facebook board member no less, outrightly supporting Trump." Or, perhaps this is a legitimate swing against liberalism, and against established parties and established political candidates, which would align with Thiel's stated political philosophy. Or, perhaps the move is based on the sum of all of these partial probabilities, and others. But I suspect subtlety here in some form, and perhaps at least the delusion of a grand plan.