Democratic billionaire Chamath Palihapitiya recently praised former President Donald Trump's work while in office, saying that some of his policies and actions were "pretty incredible."
"As a Democrat, who has been left homeless, who is now definitely in the center, but probably leaning increasingly right, I'm left yet again with an appreciation, despite the messenger of the message, of the Trump administration, because what those guys did was pretty incredible," Palihapitiya said during a recent episode of his podcast, All-In.
"So much of the work that happened in that administration turned out to have been right, and that is what is so frustrating for me," Palihapitiya added.
The remarks by Palihapitiya come as Trump continues to face legal issues with indictments relating to his business dealings in New York and his alleged connection to the January 6 Capitol riots in Washington, D.C.
Trump currently leads all other Republican candidates for the 2024 election, with a tracking poll from Morning Consult showing him receiving 59 percent of votes. Following behind Trump is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis with 14 percent and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley with 7 percent.
During his podcast this week, Palihapitiya went on to speak about a number of actions taken by the Trump administration, such as the border wall with Mexico and a peace deal in the Middle East, praising much of his work.
"The work on the border wall, we didn't like the messenger, so we killed the message. Turned out it was right," Palihapitiya said. "Issuing long-term debt to refinance when rates were at zero. We didn't like the messenger, so we killed the message...A structural peace deal in the Middle East. We didn't like the messenger, so we killed the message.
"When are we going to stop shooting ourselves in the foot? When are we going to actually take the time to look past who was saying things and actually listen to them word for word?" Palihapitiya added.
U.S. President Joe Biden recently announced that his administration would continue construction on the current U.S.-Mexico border wall, arguing that funds for the wall's construction were already appropriated before he took office.
New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized Biden's announcement urging him to "reverse the course."
Texas Democratic Representative Colin Allred told The Hill, "This is a necessary step to help Texas' overwhelmed border communities deal with this current surge of migrants. What our state really needs is comprehensive immigration reform, including adequate funding for border security personnel and technology."
Newsweek reached out to a spokesperson for Trump via email for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more
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