"If you can dream it, you can do it," people frequently claim Walt Disney famously said. And when it comes to allegedly aspiring baby blood consumer and Trump-loving billionaire Peter Thiel, his newest dream might be to run the state of California after Jerry Brown's final term ends.
Politico reports that the "diversity"-providing Facebook board member "is considering a 2018 bid for California governor, according to three Republicans familiar with his thinking."
They say he has been "discussing a prospective bid with a small circle of advisers, including Rob Morrow, who has emerged as his political consigliere."
Before you get as excited as I did, we're not talking about the star of Northern Exposure: This Rob Morrow is a one-time staffer at Thiel's Clarium Capital investment management and hedge fund company.
According to Politico, "Thiel has conspicuously yet to rule out a bid and that those around him continue to discuss it," citing his recent insane interview with Maureen Dowd as a sign he's readying himself for the public eye.
But just as Walt Disney didn't actually make that famous inspirational statement after all, Thiel's rumored run at Sacramento might be similarly poppycocked. Noting that "Those who have been in touch with the 49-year-old entrepreneur are skeptical that he’ll enter the race," Politico points out that in July of 2015 Thiel contributed over $56,000 to Gavin Newsom’s 2018 campaign for the seat.
Yes, the same Gavin Newsom who's vigorously opposed Thiel's President Elect bestie via the demagogue's platform of choice and who sent the donations his campaign got from Trump to immigration charities. (A call to the Newsom camp to see if he's kept Thiel's cash was not returned at publication time.)
Needless to say, Thiel wouldn't need any donations for his rumored campaign, as he's worth $2.7 billion and, like previous wannabe CA gov and Meg Whitman, could self-fund. Of course, we all know how things ended for Whitman, with a crushing defeat at the hands of Jerry Brown.
Would Thiel suffer a similar fate to his fellow tech billionaire Whitman? Perhaps she was just ahead of her time, as former Republican Governors Association executive director Phil Cox says that “With Trump's victory, we're going to see even more nontraditional candidates — with backgrounds in business, not politics — enter the political arena.” Then again, entering the arena and emerging triumphant are two very different things...and California might not be ready to be led by a guy who says, apparently sincerely, that "Mr. Trump seems fine."
