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Comment by obiefernandez | Hacker News Reader

"Zuckerberg running for president as a Republican candidate in the United States"

LOL... he would run as a Democrat, wouldn't he?

Given that the Republican party has already shown it is vulnerable to hostile takeover by people with just money, brand recognition and no political experience my bet would be he'd run as a Republican. Keep in mind that Trump too in the past leaned Democrat but ran as a Republican.

> Keep in mind that Trump too in the past leaned Democrat but ran as a Republican

Trump cultivated Democratic political connections as part of being an NYC-based real estate developer, but has been on the political right (and specifically the nativist/nationalist right) for quite a long time. His first Presidential run, which was abandoned early, was in 2000 when he threw his hat in the ring for the Reform Party nomination.

That's all true. but (and it is only a small 'but'): The Republicans are the party most friendly to big business and very wealthy people, something that Zuckerberg would surely like.

There's a pretty good case to be made that the dominant role of the neoliberal faction of the Democratic Party makes it the party that is substantively best for big business and the super rich at the moment (when it became dominant, it's economic policies we're not far from those of the dominant faction of the Republican Party—hence the “neoliberal consensus” that used to be frequently discussed—but since then he overlapping nativist/protectivist, social conservative, and religious authoritarian factions have gained more power.)

Then the question is whether he can beat the Rock in the primary.

Who do you think the Democratic nominee will be? Clinton again?

Republican would certainly be the smarter choice. Democratic constituents tend to be more idealistic and more inflexible when it comes to the issues of their particular faction, they're also less forgiving of idealogical transgressions. Republicans are more apt to fall in line as long as the candidate gives lip-service to the stratifying conservative talking points. I think you would agree, it is unlikely Zuckerberg would hesitate to reconstruct his positions as necessary to achieve the goal of being elected.

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