Ladies and gentlemen: Hulk Hogan is set to take center stage on the final night of the Republican National Convention, an appearance that is equal parts confusing and perfectly suitable for this GOP.
But look more closely and you see that Hogan's appearance may have less to do with the former pro-wrestler than it does with Peter Thiel, the right-wing billionaire and GOP kingmaker.
Stay with me here: It was roughly a decade after Gawker outed Thiel that he secretly financed Hogan's lawsuit against the media site (Gawker had published a sex tape of Hogan) and effectively killed the media company. Fast forward to 2016 and Thiel stuck out his neck for Donald Trump when no one else was willing. Now, with Thiel's protege J.D. Vance on the GOP ticket, Thiel's grip on the party has been cemented. As I wrote earlier today:
Hulk Hogan’s unexpected appearance on Thursday, shortly before Trump takes the stage, makes the message unmissable. In fact, Hogan’s appearance, which would make him the third Thiel acolyte to be on stage at the RNC this week, is an effective middle finger to critics.
But it'd be a mistake to believe that Thiel's motives are solely about personal enrichment. This is the long game to something far bigger. And like his early investment in Facebook, Thiel proves that when you invest early in folks like Vance and Trump, you can receive enormous levels of power—and maybe even the end of US democracy as you know it.
—Inae Oh
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