Introducing Narrative Command, the brand new VC thesis that helps clarify the 2024 election

In late September, former journalist turned angel investor Alex Roy, beforehand colleague of mine at defunct self-driving automotive startup Argo AI, revealed a bit on the web site of his newly launched boutique deep tech VC agency, New Trade VC (NIVC), entitled “Narrative Command”

Roy, a former avenue racer who set a brand new Cannonball Run cross-country document in 2006, co-founded NIVC and acts as its Common Associate alongside fellow co-founder and GP Patrick Hunt, former early technique chief at Rivian. The duo plans to put money into “deep tech” {hardware} startups comparable to these in robotics, aerospace and protection, and clear/inexperienced tech. The corporate has but to announce any investments or its portfolio.

Roy’s piece made the rounds amongst his followers on X and was shared favorably by different tech buyers and founders, and for good cause: in it, Roy elucidates a brand new idea that recasted the thought of startup communications — and particularly, the narrative startups supply about themselves, their vertical/{industry}, and their place in it — as intrinsic to the success of the enterprise, alongside “Operational Mastery,” or a “disciplined approach of addressing risks in structured stages.”

As Roy states:

“Nice storytelling isn’t artwork, it’s math. It’s the sum of hook, anticipation, and determination, multiplied by the ability of the storyteller.

However even nice storytelling is nugatory with out story-audience match, which requires the best story, on the proper time, heard by the best viewers.“

Within the aftermath of the 2024 election that pre-vote polls prompt could be shut however ended up being a “red wave” that handedly elected former President Donald J. Trump to his second, non-consecutive time period, Roy noticed on X that the election end result, and particularly Trump marketing campaign backer Elon Musk’s desired consequence of getting his most popular candidate elected “wasn’t luck. It was many things. Also, NARRATIVE COMMAND is self-sustaining,” connecting it again to NIVC’s funding thesis.

I referred to as Roy up earlier right this moment to debate Narrative Command and what impression it could have had on Musk’s position within the election, and Trump’s victory. As he summarized: “Narrative command is the concept that in every new market there is a startup that defines a vision of the future that becomes the default for that vertical.” The next is a video of our dialog and edited transcript under.

Carl Franzen, Venturebeat: Whats up, that is Carl Franzen, government editor at VentureBeat. And becoming a member of me proper now could be Alex Roy, founder — and I ought to say, truly, former colleague of mine — present co-founder of NIVC, and esteemed autojournalist and former Cannonball Run racer and automotive collector. And so, a really storied historical past, however right me if I acquired something there flawed in your intro.

Alex Roy, NIVC: Nope. You bought all of it right.

Franzen: Fairly not too long ago, Alex, you and I spoke since you launched a brand new firm referred to as NIVC, which invests in deep tech {hardware} startups on the very starting. And a part of your VC’s differentiation from others within the discipline is that you simply apply one thing referred to as narrative command. You wrote an amazing piece various weeks in the past if you launched your new firm. We’ll clearly put a hyperlink to narrative command so that folks can learn it. However I assume simply in a high-level view, how would you summarize narrative command?

Roy: Narrative command is the idea that in each new market there’s a startup that defines a imaginative and prescient of the long run… which turns into the default future for that vertical. They outline the language of the vertical, forcing everybody else to make use of that language. They outline the seminal expertise or consequence, after which give audiences or prospects a style of that have.

As soon as one is outlined, or seize narrative command for a brand new vertical, opponents, whether or not they’re pre-existing or new, should stay contained in the narrative and discourse that you’ve created.

Taken to its logical conclusion, it turns into self-sustaining, the place stakeholders, followers, prospects, allies, buyers perpetuate the narrative. And the perfect instance of that is, in fact, Tesla, who possesses narrative command of each electrical and autonomous automobiles.

And but whose actuality command does not likely meet their narrative — not taking something from Tesla in any respect. Narrative command is a vital part of any startup’s success within the twenty first century, which brings us to our dialogue right this moment of whether or not or not it may be utilized to different issues: mature markets and politics.

Franzen: Yeah, in order that’s a brilliant fascinating distinction. I’m actually glad you pointed that out. I believe the temptation could be to use narrative command— particularly for me: I’m a journalist, we’ve labored collectively earlier than, and I’m serious about storytelling, each fictional and non-fictional, the concept that a single firm’s narrative, the story that they inform about themselves to an viewers, can outline not solely them and their prospects’ expertise but additionally your complete market, after which solidify their place inside it as a pacesetter, is a very cool and compelling concept.

And I believe that’s partially why your narrative command essay that you simply did publish initially a couple of weeks in the past did go viral to the extent that it might within the midst of our election, and it was so compelling, you and I began speaking about it again then.

However right this moment I believe, we’re talking on November 6, 2024, the Wednesday, the day after the US presidential election. So, Donald Trump has been declared the winner already. Primarily based on a bunch of the reporting that’s come out from the states, the early vote totals, plainly he’s about 4 million votes forward and has all of the electoral votes essential to reassume the presidency.

On the one hand, we don’t weigh an excessive amount of into politics normally at VentureBeat, however however, to your level, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla (though I believe he makes use of a unique title now) and in addition an proprietor of X, the social community, was a really energetic participant on this election on the facet of Donald Trump, donating by means of his political motion committee, personally showing at Trump occasions and talking on behalf of Trump and in addition urging his followers and your complete citizens of america to vote for Trump.

And because it seems, as soon as once more, Musk, who many criticize and doubt — I’ve had my very own disagreements or points together with his positions — as soon as once more proves the naysayers flawed and is ready to get this most popular candidate elected.

So, you probably did publish, I believe not too long ago on X that the true lesson isn’t the election. The true lesson is whether or not or not the Democratic get together will study from it. And this was with reference to Biden’s failure to ask Elon Musk to the 2021 White Home Electrical Car Summit. Is that this an instance of narrative command that Musk was in a position to take a number one position in serving to to form the end result of this election?

Roy: Taking that one instance, the tweet concerning the Electrical Car Summit 2021… So, that is fascinating as a result of in 2021, and right this moment, Tesla as a automotive firm had absolute narrative command, but it surely additionally possesses then and now actuality command of the American electrical automobile market.

When narrative and actuality meet, and other people know they’ve met, [Wall] Road is aware of, fashionable consensus is aware of, it’s unattainable to combat that. One might doubtlessly combat actuality command with an amazing narrative, but it surely’s arduous. When the 2 are one and the identical, you possibly can’t combat it.

So when Biden acquired up there and stated, “Mary, you’ve led the way,” referring to Mary Barra, CEO of GM, who had solely offered a couple of hundred automobiles and Tesla had offered tens of millions of automobiles, that serves no objective aside from to point to buddy or foe that the speaker of that narrative both doesn’t know what the fact is or has chosen to disregard it. That’s the message it sends.

And I’m not saying this as a political assertion about Biden. That is purely the science of narrative and crowds, and actuality and crowds. If Musk had been there, with all of the political complexity and stress it could have launched, it could have, I believe had the alternative impact — whereas a Democratic president invitations somebody who’s a know-how chief to face subsequent to individuals they oppose exterior the White Home.

However contained in the White Home, contained in the cradle of American democracy, these distinctions don’t matter. However they took the alternative wager that folks wouldn’t pay attention to the fact, and as a substitute, he set off a sequence of occasions that has led Elon Musk to the place we’re right this moment.

And I believe it’s actually essential to grasp the distinction between narrative command in a tech startup setting versus politics as a result of in tech startups, you don’t know if issues work till the market tells you, and that may take many, a few years. One will be dominant for many years till a wave builds after which the panorama inverts.

However in politics, we’ve mounted election dates. And so, each 4 years, in a presidential cycle, a story will get spun. And in case your actuality doesn’t catch up on the finish of 4 years or doesn’t favor you, you’re out. If actuality type of does, you may maintain that narrative going one other 4 years, and also you’ve had your eight-year cycle.

Now, there’s a second dynamic within the utility of narrative command concept to politics, which is that there’s a narrative past any president: that’s the narrative of america as a nation.

Within the nineteenth century, we had been a brand new nation, and that was one narrative. Within the twentieth, there have been different imperial powers, and lots of nice nations had nice nation standing, however within the twentieth century, it was the American century, and any American, left or proper, would let you know that was true. There was no query of America’s decline. It was all ascendant. And so, america had whole narrative command of actually the world.

And but, for the final 15-20 years, there have been debates inside america whether or not that narrative stays true. This introduces a dynamic that can change the course of world occasions, because it did final evening, which is whichever candidate’s narrative aligns with the narrative of America sustaining its command goes to stay on the nexus of half the populace, and whomever else within the different half needs to consider that’s true. And there’s no query that Elon Musk understood this. Some components contained in the Republican get together understood this. And the mixed forces of messaging between these two meant that the Republicans had been aligned with the imaginative and prescient of the American twentieth century being carried into the twenty first. And the Democrats didn’t have a story both as highly effective or countervailing.

I might let you know off the highest of my head precisely what the Republican get together has stated they’re going to do. I might sort largely let you know what the Democrats are going to say they’re going to do, however by way of energy, everybody on each side of the spectrum and everybody exterior america lives contained in the semantic panorama outlined by Donald Trump since 2016.

And so, if you stay contained in the narrative and discourse and language of another person, you’ll undoubtedly lose to that particular person. And so the excellent news, it doesn’t matter what your political standpoint is, is that we’ve elections each 4 years. And so the fact in American historical past is that we’ve at all times had oscillations of temper and narrative and actuality. And this can reset as soon as once more in 4 years — or at the least there’ll be the chance to reset it, if the Democrats can outline a story aligned with the fact the individuals need that’s higher than the fact than the Republicans can ship over the subsequent 4 years.

Franzen: Thanks. That’s a brilliant useful lens. And to your level, I’m not suggesting that your narrative command thesis — the temptation is perhaps you apply it in all potential contexts, and in some, it might not be as relevant as precisely as it’s within the new vertical area. However to your level, I completely see in my head a reference to the formation of a brand new nation that’s in a method a brand new vertical, proper? We’re all experiencing and anyone that’s round for the formation of a brand new nation and its improvement is collaborating in a vertical in a political area and in an financial area. Proper?

Roy: I agree with you. Look, I imply, I believe the brand new area during which america has been dwelling for a number of months at the least is an area in which there’s a debate over what the American narrative will probably be within the twenty first century.

As a result of up till 2016, there was only one, and there was a debate over whether or not we had been in decline.

However with the rise of China and the China narrative as a risk to the American narrative, there’s a resemblance to how I wrote about narrative command within the context of mature know-how markets.

So when you’ve a market during which there are two that’s mature with two dominant gamers, let’s say Boeing and Airbus, and so they’ve been dominant and it’s been a bipolar marketplace for many years, it is vitally arduous for an organization to grab command as a result of their narrative is similar. We construct planes. They’re all very secure. There could be some particulars about value and options however for the top consumer, they do precisely the identical factor — irrespective of which one you purchase.

And there have it could though each election cycle the vote every get together says the opposite one goes to vary every thing basically the world will ever be the identical once more, for a very long time that wasn’t fairly true. Every get together ascending to the presidency was like a trim tab on a ship. They’ll make minor course corrections, however the grand movement of the fact of america and its international domination has typically trended the identical course.

On this case, on this election, for the primary time in a very long time, you had one get together espousing a story of change and the opposite failing to articulate why the present narrative ought to proceed or there ought to be an alternate. And that lack of focus was, on this case, suicidal to the Democratic get together.

An excellent instance of that might be Boeing has had points now — structural points in all probability for many years and extreme questions of safety for a number of years now. Statistically, they’re not that vital, however by way of their narrative, Boeing’s in decline. Airbus has not stepped as much as assert their superiority technologically or narratively — they’re sitting passively and ready, which is fascinating.

As Donald Trump and the Republicans outlined the semantic panorama and the language and context during which all political discourse would happen, there was no determine on the left emergent to match Donald Trump and the system of communication that exists that he introduced with him and that he created. And one can not take a look at the election with out taking a detailed take a look at Elon Musk himself, as a result of he grew to become a proxy for Donald Trump and introduced with him all of the narrative command within the verticals during which his firms function, after which introduced that assist to the Republican get together. There was no countervailing power.

Jeffrey Bezos was, till the very finish, absent from the election. Amazon is as vital as any of Elon Musk’s firms, however was not a participant in any of the discourse. And so the Democrats principally introduced a number of knives to a gunfight. They fought the final battle and received, then introduced a number of knives to principally a rocket launch. There have been not one of the instruments of narrative command or supremacy and even equilibrium had been delivered to the desk by the Democrats. There must be radical reset right here.

And should you might distill it down to 2 moments on one bookend you’ll have the shortage of an invite for Musk to the Biden EV summit of 2021 and the opposite bookend could be Harris’s individuals selected to place her on SNL — an viewers that was precaptured to vote for her. So, no there that might not transfer the needle. And he or she was on the present — what, a couple of minutes? I don’t know what the SNL viewers It’s not that massive. I imply, no matter dimension it’s, it’s dwarfed by Joe Rogan.

And so, there have been individuals who snickered and stated Rogan ought to fly to Harris. Quite the opposite, realizing that Trump and Vance and Musk had all flown to Rogan, beforehand, the optics of Harris going would have served her earlier than she opened her mouth. After which in fact her means to hold a dialog with Rogan and make and state her case, inform her narrative would the worth of that might have been incalculable. And so these two bookends are write the e book of how the Democrats allowed a story to evaporate and… the American narrative to change into that of the Republicans.

Franzen: Yeah, and I believe that’s very properly put and I believe it aligns with, different issues that I’ve seen different reflections of Democrats, left-leaning people, leftists, these within the media who do are inclined to vote or align themselves democratically. I voted for Harris as properly, I’ve made no secret about that.

However once more trying ahead, trying forward, and attempting to grasp the place we go from right here as a rustic and particularly a know-how {industry}…

It’s tremendous fascinating as a result of upfront of this specific election I recall voting throughout the Obama years, I recall Obama having a really sturdy narrative if we’re speaking about making use of this narrative command lens to politics and clearly he had that narrative command down so properly that he received two elections fairly handedly fashionable vote and electoral school.

Clearly so much has modified since then, however it’s placing to me and I’m hoping that you simply may need some ideas about this, is again then I took that Obama being a powerful narrative performer additionally his means to articulate and achieve this by means of new media — on the time Fb was very fashionable. Proper now we’re seeing complaints that the Democrats have type of misplaced their edge that they as soon as had in on-line communications in get out the vote on-line and in on-line messaging relatively than going and knocking on all these doorways, we heard all these tales of Harris and her supporters doing that.

However I simply acquired a message from any individual that hyperlinks to a publish by Kate Starbird on social community Bluseky and she or he says: “The Right built a powerful, partisan, & participatory media environment to support its messaging, which offers a compelling “deep story” for its individuals. The Left relied upon inflexible, self-preserving institutional media and its “story” is little greater than a protection of imperfect establishments.”

I believe that type of aligns fairly properly with what you’ve simply talked about right here. I’m simply curious as to how we acquired from a celebration that understood the web, might use it, and was truly aligned in a number of methods with science and know-how — I keep in mind Obama investing in Solyndra, It was truly a giant scandal, a photo voltaic firm, and investing in beginning inexperienced vitality grants — and now rapidly it looks as if all that has evaporated each on the coverage facet and within the communication facet that the Democrats are now not aligned with both the technique of communication, technological communication, nor the ends of what we will construct. And do you see that what do you see if you take a look at what occurred?

Roy: No, I completely agree. I imply, look, should you’re not utilizing the most recent most profitable know-how to amplify your efforts, you’ll lose to somebody who does, which is similar analogy used for AI and each different new know-how.

Basically, individuals admire consistency and also you don’t need to agree with what you’re listening to, however whether it is constant and there’s a cadence to it and it turns into ubiquitous, these are the structural components of narrative command.

There are too many inside tensions amongst individuals who would declare to be Democrats for the Democrats to do that to have executed a profitable technique and received as a result of their narrative was dominated by inside battle primarily points round LGBTQ rights and Israel and Gaza. It doesn’t matter what your standpoint is — like individuals, a celebration have to be united or you’ll lose.

All of that is elemental within the absence of a story and for a lot of many years for the reason that finish of World Battle II the American narrative was that we’ve a system of values: liberalism, free speech, entrepreneurial spirit, science, we go to the moon, we received the Chilly Battle. We constructed nuclear energy and so we assured freedom of security of transport lanes which allow unlocked international commerce and so these had been issues each events agreed on and amongst implicit in that American native command.

Implicit was that we might brazenly or covertly encourage different nations to observe us down that highway and shield nations that believed in that system. NATO is the last word expression of this and so the notion of defending that system and different nations what is crucial for that narrative to outlive.

So when there’s debate over whether or not or not we should always shield Taiwan or debate whether or not or not we should always assist Ukraine that narrative begins to come back aside. And so if the coverage of the Biden Administration was to assist these nations then one has to come back out and make the case truly state how does it match into the broader narrative and actuality of American supremacy for the final hundred years?

In case you execute insurance policies which type of assist these international locations however you by no means elaborate why, you permit the semantic and discourse setting open for an opponent like Trump to come back in and take it. And I don’t know if any Democrat effort in new media would have been profitable if that they had not entered the panorama with that “here’s why America attained narrative command. Here’s how it attain reality command. The two met and continue to meet in our policy decisions. You don’t have to agree with them. This is what they are.”

Nobody ever got here out and stated that. And so right here you’ve Donald Trump, he is available in and I consider it was truly JD Vance who elucidated the platform for the long run. It’s area, re-industrialization. pleasant tech setting, open markets, free speech.

Now, Joe Biden has had some nice insurance policies just like the CHIPS act is the center of reindustralization of important industries in america. I stay in Arizona the place the TSMC plant is right here now and so they’re working, at excessive capability. We want that. It’s a nationwide safety concern. And but at no level did the Left come out and clarify why that’s a necessary convergence of narrative and actuality command. And so individuals admire consistency, readability, and energy — actual or perceived — and so they voted for it.

Franzen: This concept — I believe you articulated rather well — is that the Democrats and their supporters have to have that inside that messaging consistency it doesn’t matter what strategies they select to precise it. However, to your level earlier concerning the Rogan podcast and Harris’s communication after which in the end unwillingness to go on Rogan her willingness to go on Fox but on the identical time and older media. Is the Democrats is it needed, do you suppose, for an individual who’s in search of narrative command in any type of vertical, politics or enterprise to be leveraging new media instruments like these Rogan podcasts, streamers, Aidan Ross — I believe any individual shouted him ou, I do know Trump appeared on his present — is that going to be a needed precondition for both a political determine or a enterprise chief in the event that they’re in search of to ascertain narrative command to go to those new media sources?

Roy: Completely. Sure. In case you’re not showing on the innovative, the forefront of latest media, you’re DOA. It’s executed. I imply, think about happening, you’re operating for president 1965 and also you go on the opposing get together’s hottest radio present, however you don’t go on tv since you need the TV crew to come back to you. It’s precisely the identical factor. it’s outrageous.

Look, Rogan is the Johnny Carson of our time: you don’t go on his present, you’re not on the taking part in discipline. And do individuals suppose that having a finances for advertising and adverts is a technique? No, these are instruments. These are instruments. if the aim is to win then you definately execute in each dimension on the trail to successful — and the Democrats didn’t.

However, there are such a lot of errors baked into the get together and their technique that I don’t understand how they might have received. I’ve seen on Twitter [X] and [Meta’s] Threads right this moment individuals debating small issues, “oh, if Kamala had selected Shapiro instead of Waltz [as her vice presidential candidate], could he have delivered Pennsylvania?” Perhaps. However such a choice might solely have flowed from a holistic and whole technique, with one aim: win. A piecemeal method of small silo selections and items doesn’t get you to massive objectives — it doesn’t get you to autonomous automobiles, it doesn’t get you to Mars. One should have a complete method. And so something much less is desk stakes and desk stakes doesn’t win.

Franzen: And is that what you’re saying if you say in your publish, you talked about this on Twitter right this moment, “Open the iris or you will never see.” What ought to we be seeing after we open that iris? Is it a Democratic failure to have that messaging consistency an that inside consistency or is it…?

Roy: Let’s stroll backwards. I’m going to make use of one thing near house: take a look at the historical past of autonomous automobiles. There have been a number of firms making an attempt to construct them — there’s Tesla who owns the narrative and there’s everyone else and everybody else says has the identical narrative: “We’re going to make the road safer, traffic will be reduced and pollution will be reduced.”

After which behind that, you want every thing else. None of these firms personal the panorama of the language. Considered one of them, Waymo, has the seminal product expertise and just about nothing else. Waymo is the perfect product out there with out query.

My outdated employer, Argo AI, nice firm, nice know-how, the management was shy about talking in public. In case you are shy about talking in public, you’ll be defeated by somebody who isn’t shy. And that’s it. That’s all it’s.

So the Democrats might have had every thing. They may have had whole actuality command, I believe they nonetheless would have misplaced as a result of the messenger wasn’t doing the messaging. Biden and Kamala weren’t on the market doing the work. aA an investor, I’ve 50 plus at angel investments and most of them the know-how is nice and fascinating and a few of them are executing and a subset of them have a dynamic charismatic chief. I’m fairly assured that the startups with a dynamic charismatic leaders, so long as there isn’t an excessive amount of of a spot between their narrative and actuality, these firms will crush — crush!

And so I might be very hesitant to put money into any firm, irrespective of prepared and glorious the execution, whose chief is unable to make the case within the room unscripted. As a result of within the trendy media setting, there are lots of examples of this, the unscripted dynamic chief who will get on stage both defeats everybody or buys sufficient time to determine it out. In some instances, the clock runs out. Elizabeth Holmes: there’s nothing there, however she might discuss. Elon Musk: there’s divergence between actuality and narrative for Elon, however there’s much more actuality than divergence. And that has purchased him huge time, energy, and affect, and cash to get his actuality nearer to the narrative, which is why he’s crucial particular person, in all probability within the West right this moment and perhaps on the planet right this moment after Xi and whoever is elected after Trump

Franzen: Xi being the premier of China. Realizing what everyone knows now and coming at it with the method that you’ve, you talked about are these your particular person investments or are these by means of your agency?

Roy: I’ve made dozens and dozens of angel investments. I can’t discuss concerning the agency, if you wish to study it, I like to recommend going to our web site: NIVC.US.

Franzen: Are you able to share in any respect about what you’re on this new paradigm that we’ve entered into, both as an investor or simply as the individual that coined this time period narrative command, what are you on the lookout for subsequent?

Roy: So my accomplice on the fund is Patrick Hunt who was beforehand Rivian worker quantity 15, he ran manufacturing technique and a number of foundational components of the corporate and is a implausible particular person. So he’s an knowledgeable within the different half of our thesis which we name operational mastery. That’s principally actuality command. You bought to construct stuff. Are you aware find out how to construct?

And so we’re American and American-allied and adjoining firms that do robotics, provide chain, elemental vitality as Josh Wolf from Lux calls it., clear tech, inexperienced tech, aerospace, area and protection. So robotics and autonomous automobiles fall in there. So arduous tech, deep tech stuff that’s bodily. And we’re on the lookout for operational mastery, which is: are you able to truly construct it irrespective of how good your prototype is? After which in fact, are you able to reaching narrative command, which is my half of the thesis. These are some fairly powerful filters, however with out each, firms don’t scale. They don’t win.

And I believe the proof is should you take a look at firms which have succeeded in new verticals, they’ve possessed each these items. Anduril is a superb instance. Uber, Airbnb, there’s Fervo Vitality, Redwood Supplies, and clearly Tesla.

So, I couldn’t be extra optimistic concerning the future, However the firms that can win in that future are those who glue actuality command to narrative command as a result of with out that narrative command, they’re going to lose.

Franzen: We’re getting into the second Trump time period, is there a world during which founders, both those that you simply put money into or those that will probably be profitable making use of narrative command and operational mastery, can they achieve this whereas disagreeing with the Trump administration and… with their narrative for the world and for America?

Roy: Completely sure, if the founder is mature sufficient to grasp simply the forces of historical past and the passage of time. That is what I meant by “opening the iris.” I’ve buddies who’re Left and Proper, however my finest buddies are united in concepts of well being, high quality of life, work, and abundance are finest in the event that they’re shared amongst all individuals. They disagree on the trail to get there. But when we will agree on finish objectives, then we will debate find out how to get there whereas engaged on getting there. And so the perfect founders perceive this.

In case your startup, the success of your know-how depends upon an election, for 99.9% of founders, you might be within the flawed enterprise.

Within the case of Musk, I truly don’t consider that the election was existential for him. A Democratic win may need slowed him down, however what he’s doing is so profitable and so highly effective, his narrative so sturdy that I imply his firms will climate any election. However basically — we’d like some degree of regulation, security issues if you’re constructing autonomous automobiles — however we’d like founders coming to the desk with firms and applied sciences that transcend politics and after they enter the market really do profit all.

Virtually each know-how we use right this moment — the computer systems that we’re speaking on proper now, cell telephones, none of those had been constructed as political merchandise. They had been utilized by individuals to make political statements however they’re not political, and basically america is the perfect instance in historical past of what occurs if you unleash freedom, ingenuity, creativity, innovation in an open setting. So individuals can disagree, debate, and construct. And so so long as individuals suppose put that the highest of thoughts as they construct their firms, this nation will stay the best nation on Earth due to these freedoms, that openness.

I might encourage everybody to suppose very fastidiously about what’s most essential: is it the top aim or is it expressing your political standpoint right this moment? It’s the top aim: the betterment of all humankind.