Facing long odds, Donald Trump rewrote the political playbook

An interesting read. Some tech-related points to highlight:

> Trump also understood that his massive brand and social-media presence—particularly on Twitter, which he mastered and where he had built up a huge following years in advance—allowed him to be his own media platform and bypass the gatekeepers. He could go directly to the public. “I love Twitter,” he tweeted in 2012. “It’s like owning your own newspaper—without the losses.”

> Anyone having the temerity to support Trump felt the backlash. Activists tried to get firms to cut ties with gay tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel, who spoke at the Republican convention in favor of Trump. They likewise attacked Palmer Lucky, founder of the virtual-reality firm, Oculus, which was acquired for $2 billion by Facebook, when it emerged that he was financing pro-Trump activism. NPR commentator Cokie Roberts labeled Trump supporters “morally tainted.” Trump staffers faced the threat of being blacklisted for working for him.