Peter Thiel on Trump: "What Trump represents isn’t crazy, and it’s not going away"

Paypal co-founder Peter Thiel defended his endorsement of Donald Trump at a Washington, D.C. event on Monday -- arguing that the Republican nominee “overcomes denial, rejects bubble thinking and reckons with reality.”

“On the kinds of issues that I’ve talked about today--the trade bubble, the war bubble, the globalization bubble...the insiders have been getting it wrong for a long time,” Thiel said at an event hosted by the National Press Club. 

“The insiders have somehow been doing very micro policy adjustments and then letting these massive bubbles inflate on their watch.”

But that doesn’t mean, Thiel added, that he condones Trump’s rhetoric about women and minorities.

“But I don’t think voters pull the lever in order to endorse a candidate’s flaws,” he added. “It’s not a lack of judgment that leads Americans to vote for Trump. We’re voting for Trump because we judge the leadership of our country to have failed.”

That’s why the venture capitalist says he has a tendency of endorsing political outsiders rather than the “political elites” with lengthy resumes in public office. 

The 48-year-old also recently announced that he would donate more than one million dollars to help elect Trump as the next commander-in-chief. Trump, he said, gets “big things” right. 

Thiel cited America’s “overpriced” health care system, increasing student debt, and failed foreign wars to substantiate his “unlikely” support of a political party that’s traditionally opposed to LGBT rights. In a prime-time speech at the Republican National Convention in July, Thiel asserted that he is a “proud gay man.” On Monday, he said his political affiliation represents a “sea of change” within the Republican party, and that Trump would be “quite expansive” on gay rights if elected to the Oval Office.

During the nearly hour-long event, Thiel touched on a wide range of topics, but did not mention the Democratic party’s most recent shakeup on Friday when FBI Director James Comey announced that the bureau would review Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server upon discovering “pertinent” messages related to the case. The unexpected announcement left the Clinton campaign scrambling just a few days before Election Day.

The tech investor, however, did defend Donald Trump’s refusal to disclose his taxes--breaking the decades long tradition upheld by most presidential nominees since the 1970s. Though a level of political transparency is healthy, Thiel described this specific practice as “toxic” and the “single biggest reason” that prevents more talented people from seeking office.

With the election just eight days away, many Americans are looking forward to the conclusion of a rather tumultuous and unconventional presidential season. Thiel, however, warned against this thinking.

“The truth is no matter how crazy this election seems, it is less crazy than the condition of our country,” Thiel said. “No matter what happens in this election, what Trump represents isn’t crazy, and it’s not going away.”