Reid Hoffman is done watching Silicon Valley tiptoe around the White House. The LinkedIn co-founder and venture capitalist just issued a blunt challenge to his fellow tech moguls: stop bending the knee to President Trump and start using your power. His call comes as tech leaders issue carefully worded statements about recent Border Patrol killings while simultaneously attending Trump administration events. Hoffman's message is clear - neutrality isn't neutral anymore, it's a choice with consequences.
Reid Hoffman isn't mincing words anymore. The LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partners investor just threw down a gauntlet to Silicon Valley's power brokers, telling them to stop placating President Trump and start wielding their influence. "We in Silicon Valley can't bend the knee to Trump," Hoffman wrote in an opinion column for The San Francisco Standard. "Hope without action is not a strategy - it's an invitation for Trump to trample whatever he can see, including our own business and security interests."
The timing isn't accidental. Hoffman's challenge comes as tech's biggest names issue carefully calibrated responses to recent Border Patrol killings of two American citizens. Some CEOs condemned the violence, but many stopped short of directly criticizing the administration. That calculated distance is exactly what Hoffman wants to end.
Venture capitalist Vinod Khosla has been the loudest critic besides Hoffman, calling the White House "a conscious-less administration." But the pattern among other leaders reveals the tightrope they're walking. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei all expressed concern about the Border Patrol incidents - some in leaked internal memos - but quickly distanced those concerns from the president himself.
