Eric Snyder

For the last three presidential elections, I've been making the case that Donald Trump threatens the rule of law, creates constant chaos, and always puts his own interests above America's. All of these things make it harder for American businesses to operate efficiently and plan for the future. Last week, I was interviewed by CNN's Matt Egan about my support for Vice President Harris in her campaign for the presidency, and why I believe the Biden/Harris Administration has been much better for business than Trump. I repeated my simple argument: that rule of law and stable leadership matter more to long-term business success than corporate tax cuts and lighter regulation. When Egan asked me if there was anything I disagreed with the Biden Administration on, I said that the Federal Trade Commission's Chair, Lina Khan, is "not helping America in her job and what she's doing, and so I would hope that Vice President Harris would replace her." Senator Bernie Sanders took note of my statement and tweeted the following: "Here’s why we have to overturn Citizens United & end Big Money in politics: Billionaire Reid Hoffman donated $7 million to the Harris campaign. Now, he wants her, as president, to fire an outstanding member of the Biden Administration, FTC Chair Lina Khan. Not acceptable." Since then, multiple media outlets have run with versions of this story that falsely suggest I've been "buying levels of influence," or at least trying to do so. Senator Sanders has produced a video clip ("paid for by Friends of Bernie Sanders") that repeats his initial inaccurate claims: "[Hoffman] said, 'You know, I like Kamala Harris, I'm contributing to her campaign, but if she gets elected, I want her to get rid of Lina Khan'…This guy is not dumb. He wants something for his investment." Given the Senator's serial mischaracterizations of my actions and my sentiments, I want to be fully clear here: First, I want to reiterate my unequivocal support for Vice President Harris in her candidacy for the presidency. I have been a strong Biden/Harris supporter throughout their administration, and I am now thrilled to support Vice President Harris at the top of the ticket. I trust her to make great policies and decisions for the American people. Second, I want to be clear about the timing of the “Biden/Harris campaign contributions I've made during this cycle: In January 2024, I gave the legal maximum by contributing $923,000 to the Biden Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee that supports the President, the DNC, and Democratic state parties. I've also made significant contributions to Future Forward, a Democratic super PAC: $6 million in March, $1 million in April, and $3 million in June. None of these donations were made to Vice President Harris directly, and none occurred anywhere close to my CNN interview with Egan. In fact, I made all three donations to Future Forward while President Biden was still the presumptive Democratic nominee. So why does Senator Sanders keep falsely claiming I donated $7 million to Vice President Harris, and then quickly lobbied her to "fire" Khan? I assume it's because Matt Stoller, a labor activist who formerly worked as Senator Sanders' advisor, and is also a former co-worker of Khan's, tweeted this false statement: "Democratic Silicon Valley billionaire Reid Hoffman gives $7m to Harris, immediately demands she fire FTC Chair Lina Khan." Perhaps they were confusing me with Netflix founder Reed Hastings, who made news two days before my interview with CNN's Matt Egan, for donating $7 million to the Republican Accountability PAC, a super PAC supporting Vice President Harris. In any case, Senator Sanders and others continue to run with this disinformation, presumably for typical political manipulation purposes. For my own part, I want to make it very clear that I've never spoken with Vice President Harris about Lina Khan, or even about the FTC generally. I have never demanded, nor would I ever presume to demand, that Vice President Harris fire Lina Khan if she becomes President. I will, however, continue to support Vice President Harris in her campaign for Presidency, regardless of what views or opinions she expresses about Lina Khan or the FTC. That's because my primary motivation for participating in politics over the last eight years has been to oppose Donald Trump's ongoing attempts to break American democracy by corrupting and hollowing out its most cherished institutions. Unlike some, I have not forgotten Trump’s support of the Jan 6th insurrection and its violence, nor his attempt to coerce state officials to “find” him some more votes. Like millions of Americans, I was both extremely moved by the love of country President Joe Biden showed when he dropped out of the 2024 race, and equally energized by how impressively Vice President Harris has united diverse constituencies around the shared purpose of protecting America from a transactional demagogue who always elevates his own interests above the public good. I trust Senator Sanders feels the same. As for Lina Khan, I think her ongoing efforts to dismantle companies weakens America's innovation economy. I spoke up here, because the impact on how we invest and create the next generation of entrepreneurial companies is real – as is her attempt to limit how effectively large technology companies can compete globally. To give her real credit where credit is due, however, her efforts to ban junk fees, take on companies that defraud consumers through deceptive billing practices are commendable. The same is true for her work in limiting non-compete clauses in ways that will translate into increased wages and more vibrant labor markets, including in Silicon Valley where the free flow of human talent is crucial to the tech's industry dynamism and generativity. Finally, while I'm not one of the Friends of Bernie paying for his false ads about me, I do support his efforts to eliminate Super PACs. I have supported efforts on this for many years, including Professor Lessig’s efforts. As long as current rules remain in place, I will exercise my option to donate in ways the FEC allows. Ultimately, though, I think our politics would be much healthier if we put much lower caps on political giving and eliminated super PACs that enable individuals, corporations, unions, and other special-interest groups to spend in especially outsized ways.