Tech billionaire Peter Thiel, a rare Silicon Valley Trump fan, says movement is not going away if he loses

Billionaire technology investor Peter Thiel, a lightning rod for criticism in Silicon Valley for his support of Donald Trump, predicted that the movement the Republican presidential nominee has created would carry on even if he loses his bid for the White House on November 8.

“No matter what happens in this election, what Trump represents isn’t crazy, and it’s not going away,” Thiel said on Monday in a speech to reporters at the National Press Club in Washington.

Thiel, who announced earlier this month he was donating US$1.25 million to help Trump get elected, said the New York businessman was laying the groundwork for “a new Republican Party” that will go “beyond the dogmas of Reaganism”.

Thiel attacked Washington in his remarks, saying its elite insiders were out of touch with ordinary Americans and that Trump was shaking up a system in need of change.

“The truth is, no matter how crazy this election seems, it is less crazy than the condition of our country,” said Thiel.

While it is impossible to predict what will happen to Trump and his followers after the election, Thiel is not alone in his view.