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“I think one thing that should be distinguished here is that the media is always taking Trump literally. It never takes him seriously, but it always takes him l

“I think one thing that should be distinguished here is that the media is always taking Trump literally. It never takes him seriously, but it always takes him literally. ... I think a lot of voters who vote for Trump take Trump seriously but not literally, so when they hear things like the Muslim comment or the wall comment, their question is not, ‘Are you going to build a wall like the Great Wall of China?’ or, you know, ‘How exactly are you going to enforce these tests?’ What they hear is we’re going to have a saner, more sensible immigration policy.” - Thiel in 2016

Galaxity 6y ago
Oh Peter, I laugh everytime I read this quote. It aged so well.
- fredfoobar 6y ago
  He doesn't care if some plebe laughs at him, apparently. He made a guess, he stuck to it, that's how most top people operate. Strategically it made sense to align with Trump.
  - ipsocannibal 6y ago
    Morally though? Seriously its fantastic strategy to buddy up to a guy that would sooner burn the Constitution than admit he is wrong. Yea, let me hand that guy a blank check and the nuclear football. /s
justicezyx 6y ago
Track records do not lie. Palantir ipoed and is doing well 3x of IPO price already. You might believe Peter is saying something wrong, but the fraction of the truth is still way higher than normal guys. Media indeed take Trump literally. Trump speeches are extremely tailed to the supporters. Trump's China policy is also bold in the sense that he opens a venue of tools that previously unthinkable. Future policy makers would be more flexible on the negotiate table. Building the wall is just a concrete symbol of rallying the supporters. Like Obama's yes we can (turns out yes we can only do something slightly different).
- JetSpiegel 6y ago
  > Building the wall is just a concrete symbol Mostly chainlink actually. And mostly repairing what existed before. Separating children from their families and caging those kids is indeed a Trump policy that "opens a venue of tools that previously unthinkable", for a good reason.

Galaxity 6y ago

Oh Peter, I laugh everytime I read this quote. It aged so well.

fredfoobar 6y ago
He doesn't care if some plebe laughs at him, apparently. He made a guess, he stuck to it, that's how most top people operate. Strategically it made sense to align with Trump.
- ipsocannibal 6y ago
  Morally though? Seriously its fantastic strategy to buddy up to a guy that would sooner burn the Constitution than admit he is wrong. Yea, let me hand that guy a blank check and the nuclear football. /s

justicezyx 6y ago

Track records do not lie. Palantir ipoed and is doing well 3x of IPO price already. You might believe Peter is saying something wrong, but the fraction of the truth is still way higher than normal guys. Media indeed take Trump literally. Trump speeches are extremely tailed to the supporters. Trump's China policy is also bold in the sense that he opens a venue of tools that previously unthinkable. Future policy makers would be more flexible on the negotiate table. Building the wall is just a concrete symbol of rallying the supporters. Like Obama's yes we can (turns out yes we can only do something slightly different).

JetSpiegel 6y ago
> Building the wall is just a concrete symbol Mostly chainlink actually. And mostly repairing what existed before. Separating children from their families and caging those kids is indeed a Trump policy that "opens a venue of tools that previously unthinkable", for a good reason.