Peter Thiel cheered at Republican convention after declaring 'I am proud to be gay'


Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel, who made his fortune as a PayPal cofounder and as an early investor in Facebook, paid homage to American business and technology leadership at Thursday's Republican National Convention. He also criticized Hillary Clinton, saying we don't need to see Clinton's emails to know that her "incompetence is in plain sight." But Thiel, whom Gawker publicly outed in 2007, also made history at a Republican presidential convention, telling the people in Quicken Loans Arena: "I am proud to be gay, I am proud to be a Republican, but most of all, I am proud to be an American." The crowd cheered, which is historical in its own way.
"I don't pretend to agree with every plank in our party's platform," Thiel added, but "where we came from" is more important than "who we are." He spoke about America's past technological greatness and the "staggering decline of the country that completed the Manhattan Project." Today, "instead of going to Mars, we invaded the Middle East," Thiel said. "It's time to end the era of stupid wars and rebuild our country." Donald Trump's motto, Make America Great Again, isn't about recapturing the past, he said. "He's running to take us back to that bright future."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Can TrumpRX really lower drug prices?
Today’s Big Question Pfizer’s deal with Trump sent drugmaker stocks higher
-
‘Every argument has a rational, emotional, and rhetorical component’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
October 6 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Monday’s political cartoons include bad news overload, Donald Trump repeatedly crossing a red line, and the Statue of Liberty fallen on hard times
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsion
Speed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot
-
Oregon sues to stop Trump military deployment
Speed Read The president wants to send the National Guard into Portland