The announcement was made after a 3 p.m. call with top Democratic donors, including Hoffman’s network, and featured an appearance by Vice President Harris. Investing in US, a donor network co-founded by Hoffman and Mehlhorn, will continue its work with Hoffman under the direction of other members of its leadership team, the statements said.
“I firmly believe that Trump is an existential threat to democracy and rule of law, and I am more committed than ever to preventing a second Trump term,” Hoffman said in his statement. “I wish Dmitri success in his next efforts, and expect that his new initiatives complement our efforts and amplify our impact as we work in our different lanes to preserve America’s future.”
Mehlhorn said in his statement that the split was required because his work had begun to alienate people involved in Hoffman’s orbit.
“Our venture approach requires us to work with a political ecosystem that often is alienated by my strategic assessments. As our portfolio has evolved and integrated into the anti-Trump ecosystem, my views have become more of a distraction. Over the past month, the tension has become too great to sustain,” Mehlhorn wrote. “With this I hope to be clear that I speak for myself and Reid speaks for Reid, and we will both be explicit if we agree.”
Hoffman has remained a vocal supporter of Biden in the weeks after his disastrous debate performance last month in Atlanta. Mehlhorn has been an even more outspoken defender of Biden’s continued campaign, appearing last week at an online debate with New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg to make the case for Biden’s candidacy.
Mehlhorn sent an email Saturday night to allies after the attempted assassination of Trump that asked others to consider the possibility that the event might have been “staged.” He later apologized.
“Last night, I sent an email I now regret. I drafted and sent it without consulting my team,” he said of that email in a statement. “I have apologized to them directly. I also want to apologize publicly, without reservation, for allowing my words to distract from last night’s central fact: political violence took yet another innocent American life.”
Hoffman also clarified remarks he made before the assassination attempt at a business conference with investor Peter Thiel, who has supported Trump in the past. At the event, Thiel said the decision by Hoffman and Mehlhorn to fund a successful civil libel lawsuit against Trump by E. Jean Carrol was “turning a clown into a martyr,” Hoffman said.
“In that context, I replied that I wished that Trump would martyr himself — meaning let himself be held accountable — for his assaults on and lies about women,” Hoffman said in a July 14 post on X. “Of course I meant nothing about any sort of physical harm or violence, which I categorically deplore.”
“I am horrified and saddened by what happened to former president Trump and wish him a speedy recovery,” Hoffman added.
Carroll won her suit against Trump after a New York Jury found that the former president had sexually abused Carroll in a New York department store and later defamed her when she spoke about it.
Investing in US, under Mehlhorn’s leadership, has been known for an entrepreneurial and adventurous approach to political spending.
The group, with Hoffman’s backing, has funded a wide variety of efforts to help Democrats and hurt Trump, including the funding of niche online news sources in the hopes of mobilizing voters and recently backed a set of groups aimed at creating parties, giveaways and other cultural events in the hopes of increasing voter turnout among young people in major metropolitan areas.
