RFK Jr. running mate Nicole Shanahan tells Roseanne Barr 'tech broke politics'

Nicole Shanahan, the Silicon Valley attorney who was Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s running mate before he suspended his presidential campaign, recently made an appearance on Roseanne Barr's podcast to share her insights into how the Democratic Party has become intertwined with major tech corporations in Silicon Valley.

Shanahan pointed to the 2016 election, specifically the blame placed by the tech world on Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg for Hillary Clinton's loss to Donald Trump. "Mark Zuckerberg was blamed for the loss of Hillary Clinton to Donald Trump," she explained, referencing the Russia-gate scandal and the controversy surrounding Cambridge Analytica's use of Facebook data.

“This was made a massive deal in Silicon Valley. It changed everything,” Shanahan continued. “It made everyone realize in the valley that this little motley crew of wealthy millennial assholes were changing the entire landscape of geopolitics.”

Shanahan went on to describe how political fundraising in Silicon Valley transformed in the aftermath, with tech founders creating sophisticated, politically oriented organizations. 

“There’s all these different strategic arms using tech to figure out how to win elections,” she said. “Mark Zuckerberg was made an example of for what never to do and he then became the poster boy for if your system is used to take down a democrat candidate, you will be held accountable for it.”

Reflecting on the broader impact, Shanahan remarked, “The way that it was looked at in 2016 was that tech broke politics…Tech broke politics and Silicon Valley was whipped into shape.”

“There was no coincidence that all of these big Democratic party bundlers and tech people popped up at the same time that all of these new requirements, social requirements, around tech popped up. It came hand in hand,” she said. She also explained that as politicians came into Silicon Valley, ex-employees were recruited to join Washington, including those who served in the Obama and Biden administrations. Shanahan claimed that “It started this whole new trend of… ‘we need Silicon Valley to shape up and participate and represent the Democratic Party.’”

Shanahan’s comments come at a time when Mark Zuckerberg has reportedly chosen not to endorse any candidate in the current election. Zuckerberg also informed Congress last month that he would not be donating funds to local election efforts, unlike in 2020, when he contributed $400 million. While Zuckerberg has faced criticism from conservatives for his adherence to Democratic Party demands in the past, he has recently attempted to walk back his involvement in politics in an appeal to right-wing media and has claimed to be a Libertarian.