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PoliticsQuiet 16d · day 18

Peter Thiel breaks with Trump over the Iran war

Leaked audio of a private Nashville lecture shows the top GOP donor calling the Iran strikes a mistake, even as he reaffirms support for Trump.

newest coverage 16d agosummary written 17d ago32 pieces2.1k likes & upvotes155 comments MastodonGoogle NewsNewswiresBlueskyRedditHacker News

Part of a larger narrative

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What to know

  • Peter Thiel, one of Trump's earliest and most prominent tech-world backers, privately said the US should not have gone to war with Iran.
  • The remarks, from a leaked October 12 Nashville lecture, surface less than two weeks before the midterm elections.
  • Thiel still voices support for Trump and suggested he wants to protect the president despite the criticism.
  • Thiel also warned the ICC's threat of an arrest warrant looms over the administration 'as it tries to persecute this war in Iran.'

“I read the Cheney family's Trump derangement syndrome as an attempt to buy favor with the [International Criminal Court] and avoid prosecution. Probably too late.”

Peter Thiel, Billionaire investor, GOP donor · Business Insider ↗ · Oct 20

Peter ThielPeter Thiel Billionaire tech investor, major GOP donorDonald TrumpDonald Trump US PresidentJD VanceJD Vance US Vice PresidentBenjamin NetanyahuBenjamin Netanyahu Israeli Prime Minister

Peter Thiel breaks with Trump over the Iran war
Business Insider

How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts

Peak 9 pieces in 4h at Oct 21, 7 PM; 32 pieces over 18 days (14 articles · 15 posts · 3 comments) Oct 21, 11 AM — 4 pieces · 4 articles — Newswires 4Oct 21, 3 PM — 6 pieces · 5 articles · 1 post — Google News 5, Mastodon 1Oct 21, 7 PM — 9 pieces · 3 articles · 6 posts — Mastodon 4, Google News 2, Newswires 1, +2 moreOct 21, 11 PM — 2 pieces · 2 posts — Mastodon 2Oct 22, 3 AM — 3 pieces · 2 posts · 1 comment — Mastodon 2, Reddit 1Oct 22, 7 AM — 3 pieces · 2 articles · 1 comment — Newswires 2, Reddit 1Oct 22, 11 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Bluesky 1Oct 22, 3 PM — quietOct 22, 7 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Hacker News 1Oct 22, 11 PM — quietOct 23, 3 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Oct 23, 7 AM — 2 pieces · 1 post · 1 comment — Hacker News 1, Reddit 1Oct 23, 11 AM — quietOct 23, 3 PM — quietOct 23, 7 PM — quietOct 23, 11 PM — quietOct 24, 3 AM — quietOct 24, 7 AM — quietOct 24, 11 AM — quietOct 24, 3 PM — quietOct 24, 7 PM — quietOct 24, 11 PM — quietOct 25, 3 AM — quietOct 25, 7 AM — quietOct 25, 11 AM — quietOct 25, 3 PM — quietOct 25, 7 PM — quietOct 25, 11 PM — quietOct 26, 3 AM — quietOct 26, 7 AM — quietOct 26, 11 AM — quietOct 26, 3 PM — quietOct 26, 7 PM — quietOct 26, 11 PM — quietOct 27, 3 AM — quietOct 27, 7 AM — quietOct 27, 11 AM — quietOct 27, 3 PM — quietOct 27, 7 PM — quietOct 27, 11 PM — quietOct 28, 3 AM — quietOct 28, 7 AM — quietOct 28, 11 AM — quietOct 28, 3 PM — quietOct 28, 7 PM — quietOct 28, 11 PM — quietOct 29, 3 AM — quietOct 29, 7 AM — quietOct 29, 11 AM — quietOct 29, 3 PM — quietOct 29, 7 PM — quietOct 29, 11 PM — quietOct 30, 3 AM — quietOct 30, 7 AM — quietOct 30, 11 AM — quietOct 30, 3 PM — quietOct 30, 7 PM — quietOct 30, 11 PM — quietOct 31, 3 AM — quietOct 31, 7 AM — quietOct 31, 11 AM — quietOct 31, 3 PM — quietOct 31, 7 PM — quietOct 31, 11 PM — quietNov 1, 2 AM — quietNov 1, 6 AM — quietNov 1, 10 AM — quietNov 1, 2 PM — quietNov 1, 6 PM — quietNov 1, 10 PM — quietNov 2, 2 AM — quietNov 2, 6 AM — quietNov 2, 10 AM — quietNov 2, 2 PM — quietNov 2, 6 PM — quietNov 2, 10 PM — quietNov 3, 2 AM — quietNov 3, 6 AM — quietNov 3, 10 AM — quietNov 3, 2 PM — quietNov 3, 6 PM — quietNov 3, 10 PM — quietNov 4, 2 AM — quietNov 4, 6 AM — quietNov 4, 10 AM — quietNov 4, 2 PM — quietNov 4, 6 PM — quietNov 4, 10 PM — quietNov 5, 2 AM — quietNov 5, 6 AM — quietNov 5, 10 AM — quietNov 5, 2 PM — quietNov 5, 6 PM — quietNov 5, 10 PM — quietNov 6, 2 AM — quietNov 6, 6 AM — quietNov 6, 10 AM — quietNov 6, 2 PM — quietNov 6, 6 PM — quietNov 6, 10 PM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — quietYesterday, 6 AM — quietYesterday, 10 AM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 6 PM — quietYesterday, 10 PM — quietToday, 2 AM — quietToday, 6 AM — quietToday, 10 AM — quiet 1–2
Oct 23Oct 25Oct 27Oct 29Oct 31Nov 2Nov 4now · 12:37 PM ET
  1. 2

    Thiel and the White House decline to comment

    Representatives for Thiel and the White House did not respond to requests for comment on the leaked remarks, as outlets including Business Insider republished the Politico scoop.

    “I'm skeptical of [the war], I think we should not have done it. There were a lot of mistakes that were made.”
    — Peter Thiel, Billionaire investor, GOP donor · source
    1. 6 outlets Peter Thiel criticizes the US-Iran war and says that Washington should not have started it: “Perhaps we do not possess the necessary military force. Perhaps we will lose the war for influence”

      first by Informat.ro, 17d ago · also Business Insider, Politico, Anadolu Agency, Anadolu Ajansı, Middle East Monitor

      2 more headlines
    • mbkplus.bsky.social

      I’m constantly hearing about this guy giving lectures, and every time I read something about what he’s said, I become stupider.

      mbkplus.bsky.socialBluesky17d ago1.4k▲view on Bluesky ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 9 posts in this stretch

    • Thiel and his billionaire buddies basically control the gov’t. They think they are so intelligent and this qualifies their desire and ideologies to exist above everyone else. What do they want?? The richest men on earth, tech billionaires (ie Musk, Thiel) goal is to destroy this current global system of things and install boundary-less techno…

      leoyvrr/politics16d agoview on r/politics ↗
    • europesays@pubeurope.com

      Peter Thiel Criticizes Iran War, Maintains Trump Support Billionaire technology investor Peter Thiel said he’s skeptical of the US war with Iran and does not believe… # EuropeSays # Headlines # News # Europe # Europa # EU # Iran # administration # businessinsider # comment # InternationalCriminalCourt # investigation # IranWar # lecture # October…

      europesays@pubeurope.comMastodon17d agoview on Mastodon ↗
    all of them →
  2. 1

    Politico publishes leaked audio exposing Thiel's remarks

    Decoded by Politico obtained and published audio of Thiel's lecture, revealing his break with Trump over the Iran war for the first time publicly, days before the midterm elections.

  3. background

    Thiel criticizes the Iran war in a private Nashville lecture — At a lecture in his ongoing Nashville series, Thiel said he was skeptical of the war with Iran and that the US should not have launched it, while also warning about neoconservatives, the ICC, and recounting a 2024 meeting with Netanyahu.

Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet

  1. 4 outlets Billionaire Donald Trump donor Peter Thiel embarrasses US President by admitting Iran war was a mistake

    first by AOL.co.uk, 17d ago · also Yahoo, Newser, Daily Caller

    3 more headlines

What people are saying 6 voices from 3 sites · best of 9 · verbatim