Intel Chief Executive Brian Krzanich is dropping his plan to host a fund-raiser tomorrow for Donald Trump at his home in Atherton, Calif.
The abrupt about-face came within hours after the New York Times began inquiring about Krzanich's support of the Republican Party's presumptive presidential nominee.
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Trump has been a frequent critic of immigrants — especially those who come to the country without documentation. Erecting a wall along the Mexican border is a centerpiece of his immigration policy.
He also has, shall we say, a challenging history with regard to women.
The billionaire's views have made him unpopular in many corners of Silicon Valley, where one study found that immigrants have been behind more than half of the current crop of U.S.-based startups valued at $1 billion or more.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg took the unusual step of knocking Trump's immigration policies from the stage of the F8 developer conference.
Krzanich's support of Trump could be seen as detracting from Intel's position at the forefront of the movement for increasing diversity in the tech industry.
Last year, the company committed $300 million to boost diversity in tech using a range of techniques including efforts to increase mentorship within its company as well as to get more girls and people of color interested in tech at a younger age.
It will be particularly interesting to see how this development, the cancellation notwithstanding, plays with Intel's workforce. Sources contacted by Recode suggest there is dismay within the corporate ranks over Krzanich's apparent naivete around the implications of hosting such an event.
Neither Intel nor a spokesperson for the Trump campaign responded to requests for comment. The company has apparently not communicated internally about the issue either.
—By Dawn Chmielewski and Ina Fried, Recode.net.
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