Billionaire Michael Moritz, the venture capitalist who built Sequoia Capital into one of the world’s most influential investment firms, did not mince words in slamming the most powerful man in America. Talking to The Times, he delivered a blunt assessment of President Donald Trump, branding him an “absurd buffoon.”
It is a shocking condemnation from someone operating at the highest echelons of American capitalism. Moritz, who has an estimated net worth of $5.95 billion, accumulated through decades of shrewd investments in Silicon Valley’s most transformative companies, represents a specific species of power broker: someone who has made his fortune by understanding people, markets, and the machinery of influence. So, when someone like him calls Trump a buffoon, it is worth taking seriously.
But his frustration extends beyond plain dislike. He also painted a picture of a transactional relationship built on fear rather than respect.
“Most of these people who pose in pictures with Trump, they have his number,” Moritz told The Times. “And they realize what an absurd buffoon he is. But he’s running a protection racket, and they’ve got to pay for protection. That’s what they’re doing.”
Elon Musk, in particular, emerges as an object of Moritz’s sympathy. The Tesla CEO, who spent significant political capital and personal resources helping Trump secure his return to the White House through his full control of X and public endorsements, now finds himself navigating a relationship with a man Moritz views as fundamentally unpredictable and self-serving.
Michael Moritz on his techbro friends & colleagues: ‘Most of these people who pose in pictures with Trump realise what an absurd buffoon he is. But he’s running a protection racket and they’ve got to pay for protection. That’s what they’re doing.’ pic.twitter.com/Bn9WAcM2vm
— Grant Feller (@grantfeller) January 10, 2026
“Poor Elon, I thought he didn’t understand quite who he was dealing with,” Moritz reflected, his tone suggesting a kind of disappointed recognition. “But look, that’s the sad, sorry truth about Trump, that this is a man who has a good sense of problems that are real problems: competition with China on fair trade and the immigration issue at the border, Europe not paying its fair share in defense, bloated government? Very easy for me to agree with all that stuff.”
Mortiz is not arguing that Donald Trump entirely lacks political vision. Rather, he is suggesting that any legitimate insights the POTUS might have about the real challenges facing America are overshadowed by his character flaws and a transactional approach to power.
‘Trump is an absurd buffoon’ — by Brit billionaire Michael Moritz https://t.co/6eSYWc6FTH
— The Times and The Sunday Times (@thetimes) January 9, 2026
Mortiz’s comments came amid Trump’s increasingly aggressive moves on the international stage, particularly his push to take over Greenland from Denmark—a move that has shocked his allies and critics. During an event attended by oil execs interested in participating in his controversial Venezuelan resource extraction plans, the 79-year-old commander-in-chief laid out his reasoning with characteristic bluntness.
“Right now, we are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not because if we don’t do it Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we’re not going to have Russia or China as a neighbor,” Donald Trump said. “I would like to make a deal, you know, the easy way. But if we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way.”
Trump was dismissive when pressed about what he might offer Denmark in exchange for the territory. “We are going to do something on Greenland whether they like it or not,” he repeated, notably avoiding any discussion of financial compensation.
For Moritz and others in Silicon Valley watching from the sidelines, the picture emerging is of Donald Trump operating without traditional constraints, leveraging power as he perceives it necessary. Whether that vision translates into actual policy or merely political theater remains to be seen.
