Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia says he left the Democratic Party to back President Trump, citing the border crisis and claiming Democrats “let in criminals and dangerous people.”
The tech billionaire, long a Democrat, said he began shifting Republican in 2021 over what he saw as weak immigration enforcement under President Joe Biden. “I remember just being like, ‘Holy cow, this is crazy,’” Gebbia told “The Katie Miller Podcast” on Monday.
“Like, ‘This is not right, this is a real problem and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be enforcing the laws of our country and our border,’” he continued. Gebbia said he turned to friend and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner for perspective and soon “started to pull on that thread,” expanding his focus to other issues.
“I sort of, you know, begin to look at other topics and eventually came to the point where I don’t think I can support a political party that wants to have an open border, that lets in criminals and dangerous people into our country,” he said. “That’s just not something I can get behind.”
Gebbia said his friendships with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Elon Musk also helped draw him toward supporting Trump. “I’ve been on my journey. Everyone’s been on a journey,” he said of his gradual shift toward Republicans.
“I think through, you know, certainly Bobby Kennedy and supporting him, and I’ve been so grateful for the work that he’s doing, to be somebody who just cares so much about the health of our nation, and you know, has no ties to industry and is really just able to bust through walls and sort of, like, right-size the ship,” he added.
Gebbia first volunteered in February with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to review federal retirement processes. Last month, Trump appointed him chief design officer of the new National Design Studio, tasked with improving government websites.