In the aftermath of Donald Trump’s attempted assassination, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman has clarified prior comments he made wishing that the former president was an “actual martyr.”
Hoffman, who is one of the Democratic Party’s biggest donors, was speaking at a media mogul conference in Sun Valley just last week when he made the remark to Peter Thiel, the cofounder of PayPal and an early investor in Facebook.
Now, Hoffman has taken to X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) to clear the air and complain that his comments have been “reported out of context”.
“Of course I meant nothing about any sort of physical harm or violence, which I categorically deplore,” Hoffman wrote in light of the attempt on Trump’s life during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Instead, the tech entrepreneur insisted that his quip was about holding Trump to account for “his assaults on and lies about women,” all the while criticizing the 45th president for previously using violent language himself.
“When he warns against consequences of him losing the election, he should not predict a ‘bloodbath‘ in a way that might incite future protesters to violence against his political opponents,” Hoffman wrote, before concluding that he was “horrified and saddened” by the shooting.
The attack was the most serious attempt to kill a president or presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981. The attack on Trump resulted in the death of one rally attendee, Corey Comperatore.
Fortune has contacted Hoffman and LinkedIn for comment.
Hoffman and Thiel’s exchange
Last week, Hoffman was among many Silicon Valley execs, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates, who attended Allen & Company’s annual Sun Valley Conference in Idaho—informally known as “summer camp for billionaires.”
But, according to Puck News, things took an awkward turn when former Stanford classmates Hoffman and Thiel began sparring over their politcal alliances on Wednesday morning.
Hoffman was onstage in conversation with Palantir CEO Alex Karp, when he was asked about his relationship with Thiel—who happened to be sitting in the audience.
According to attendees, Hoffman said the two were no longer on speaking terms because of Thiel’s support for Trump, which he described as a “a moral issue.”
To that end, Thiel reportedly stood up and responded that his door is always open, before sarcastically thanking Hoffman for funding lawsuits against Trump because they had turned him into “a martyr,” thereby increasing his chances of re-election.
“I am so grateful to you,” Thiel added, to which Hoffman shot back: “Yeah, I wish I had made him an actual martyr.”
Just days later, 20-year-old gunman Thomas Crooks opened fire on Trump.
Since then, Elon Musk scathed on X: “The Reid Hoffman’s of the world got their dearest wish… but then the martyr lived.”
The Reid Hoffman’s of the world got their dearest wish … but then the martyr lived pic.twitter.com/laaRBc5yol
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 14, 2024
Meanwhile, some Microsoft shareholders have called on Hoffman to resign from the company’s board of directors in light of his comments.
Hoffman’s strategist is in hot waters too
Hoffman isn’t the only person whose recent comments about Trump have been met with scrutiny.
Hoffman’s own strategist, Dmitri Mehlhorn, has come under fire after suggesting that the attack on Donald Trump could have been “staged.”
The Democratic adviser sent an email to journalists, including to the publication Semafor which leaked the note, imploring them to explore the possibility “this ‘shooting’ was encouraged and maybe even staged so Trump could get the photos and benefit from the backlash.”
Another possibility, Mehlhorn wrote, “is that some crazy anti-Trumper in this chaotic moment decided to assassinate the former President.”
He added that he was disappointed that journalists were not already raising the possibility of a fake shooting, before later stating he regretted having sent the email.
“It was drafted and sent without consultation from team members or allies,” he told Semafor. “I apologize, and wish I had reacted as thoughtfully as Reid Hoffman this morning.”
Read Hoffman’s full apology post
“First and everything: There is no place for political violence in our society. Assassination is not only categorically wrong, but is also the assassination of democracy. It is abhorrent that anyone has tried to assassinate President Trump. Everyone, on all sides of this election, should condemn political violence loudly and publicly.
“This includes President Biden, who last night said, “There’s no place in America for this kind of violence.”
“It also includes President Trump. Instead of calling the January 6th insurrectionists ‘heroes” whom he intends to pardon and even hire into government, he should speak out against political violence. When he warns against consequences of him losing the election, he should not predict a “bloodbath” in a way that might incite future protesters to violence against his political opponents. He should clearly indicate, which he never has, that political violence is evil and unacceptable—even if the perpetrators are trying to do it to benefit him.
“The beauty and importance of democracies is having political conflict be only speeches and ballot boxes. This is the importance of having a society governed by the rule of law, which holds everyone accountable to an independent judiciary and by juries of our peers. It is what I stand for, and what I advocate for everyone to stand for.
“A point of clarification on a recent comment of mine that has been reported out of context. At a recent business conference, Peter Thiel said that my lawsuit work against Trump was “turning a clown into a martyr.” In that context, I replied that I wished that Trump would martyr himself—meaning let himself be held accountable—for his assaults on and lies about women. Of course I meant nothing about any sort of physical harm or violence, which I categorically deplore. I meant and mean accountability to the rule of law, such as unanimous guilty felony verdict by 12 jurors on 34 counts and an $84 million judgment for slander and lies about his sexual assault.
“I am horrified and saddened by what happened to former President Trump and wish him a speedy recovery.”
