Big Peter Thiel donation shows he’s still with Trump

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Tech billionaire investor Peter Thiel has again put his money where his mouth is: He’s still with Trump.

With $250,000, Thiel was the biggest donor to the Trump Victory Committee in the most recent quarter, a new Federal Election Commission filing shows.

The donation, dated July 10, appears to be the first donation by Thiel to the organization since the 2016 presidential campaign, when he forked over more than $1 million. He also donated $101,700 to the Republican National Committee July 10, according to a previously released FEC filing.

Thiel, of PayPal Mafia fame and one of Silicon Valley’s most high-profile supporters of President Donald Trump, was joined in this round of donations by United States Steel, which gave $100,000, and Trump attorney Mark Kasowitz, who gave $50,000, and a plethora of retired individuals from around the nation.

Overall, the Trump campaign raked in in $18.1 million last quarter through his campaign committee and two joint committees with the Republican National Committee. He has raised about $106 million since he came into office, according to the Washington Post.

It is unclear what kind of role, if any, Thiel plays in the Trump administration. He played a role during the presidential transition, but there have been reports that he later became critical of the president. Earlier this year, he said during a newspaper interview that “It’s been a crazier two years than I would have thought. … There are all these ways that things have fallen short.” But he said he had no regrets about supporting Trump, because “It’s still better than Hillary Clinton or the Republican zombies.”

Over the summer, Thiel compared Silicon Valley — which conservatives decry as too liberal — to North Korea, calling it a “one-party state.”

In the July-September quarter, the Victory campaign transferred money to the Republican National Committee, plus spent money on travel expenses, marketing and about $120,000 on the digital consulting services of Parscale Strategy.

Brad Parscale was the digital media director for Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign who famously said on “60 Minutes” that Facebook “embeds” — employees who help campaigns use the company’s ad-targeting tools more effectively — helped propel Trump to victory. Parscale is now leading Trump’s 2020 campaign.

A spokesman for Thiel — who was Facebook’s first outside investor and remains a board director of the social media giant — did not return a request for comment.