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Silicon Valley wants California to leave the USA after Trump win

Super Califrexit thinks The Donald is atrocious

10 Nov 2016

Donald Trump's surprise win has sent shockwaves throughout Silicon Valley, with some prominent tech entrepreneurs even pushing for California to leave the United States of America.

The state is located deep in Democrat heartland, and voted overwhelmingly for Clinton in the presidential election on Tuesday.

Following Trump's unexpected victory, HyperLoop co-founder Shervin Pishevar reignited interest in a movement wishing to make California a free and independent territory, which was started last year by activist Louis Marinelli.

Pishevar, along with other well-known figures in the Valley, pledged political and financial support for the campaign. It has taken inspiration from Brexit and other European seccessionist movements, and is aiming to force a referendum on the issue by 2019.

The supporters of New California', as the independent state would be called, argue that its thriving economy, diverse population and progressive views make it better suited to being a self-contained body than part of the union. In fact, California has the largest economy in the country and the sixth-largest economy in the world, according to the IMF.

Silicon Valley has been apprehensive about the thought of a Trump presidency, as he has had a somewhat chequered relationship with the industry. He has had personal conflicts with Amazon's Jeff Bezos, and has threatened to crack down on the outsourcing of manufacturing jobs by companies like Apple.

Trump's sole vocal supporters among the tech community are PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel and Oculus Rift creator Palmer Luckey.