Sequoia partner Doug Leone is backing Trump after previously distancing himself from him

• Doug Leone wrote on X that he will support Donald Trump for president in this year’s election.

• Leone previously rebuked Trump, saying he incited the riot at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

• Leone’s endorsement adds him to a growing list of Silicon Valley elites backing Trump.

Billionaire venture capitalist Doug Leone, a partner at Sequoia Capital who led the firm until 2022, on Monday rescinded his previous criticism of Donald Trump and said he would support the former president and the convicted felon’s campaign.

He joins a growing list of Silicon Valley elites who support Trump.

“I have become increasingly concerned about the overall direction of our country, the state of our broken immigration system, the rising deficit and foreign policy missteps, among other things,” Leone wrote in a post on I support former President Trump in the upcoming elections.”

After the January 6 attack on the Capitol, Leone had previously renounced his support for Trump. He said the former president’s behavior during the riots caused him to lose “many of his supporters, including myself,” Leone said in a statement to Vox’s Recode at the time.

The reaffirmation adds Leone to a growing list of Silicon Valley elites who have said they will support Trump following his recent felony conviction in New York. They include Shaun Maguire, a partner at Sequoia, and billionaire venture capitalist David Sacks.

Leone and Trump campaign representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

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