LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman is considering leaving the United States after Republican nominee Donald Trump defeated his Democrat rival Kamala Harris in the November 5 presidential election, reports say.
Hoffman was vocal in supporting Vice-President Kamala Harris and even donated millions to back her Presidency.
After Ms Harris’ defeat, Mr Hoffman reportedly told friends that he was considering relocating overseas, three people familiar with him told The New York Times.
He is worried about retribution from Trump, who has promised to take on his political opponents, including several major Democratic donors.
Mr Hoffman found himself in hot water after the first failed assassination attempt on Trump in July. An old comment of the 57-year-old entrepreneur resurfaced online, sparking massive criticism. He reportedly said he wished the US President-elect was an “actual martyr.”
He donated $10 million to a super PAC that backed Ms Harris as the US president. He even helped pay for the defamation lawsuit filed by E Jean Carroll against Mr Trump. In court, Trump’s side had argued that Hoffman’s role in financing the lawsuit raises “significant questions” about Carroll’s credibility.
Later, a jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll in 1996 as well as for defamation, and she was awarded $5 million in damages. Another jury awarded her an additional $83.3 million in damages earlier this year for defamation after the President-elect said she lied about rape allegations.
Apart from Mr Hoffman, several other major Democrat donors and their advisers have also reportedly considered leaving the country.
“People are kind of shell-shocked – and trying to figure out what happened… People are trying to adjust to reality and plot out a path forward,” said tech mogul Steve Silberstein.
The New York Times stated that some of these people are even distributing memos meant to guide the postmortem analysis for the Democrats so that the fund-raising for the party does not dry up.
