# David Sacks — "provoked, yes provoked, the Russians" > [!quote] "Biden likes to say that Putin started this war. But it was Biden who provoked, yes provoked, the Russians to invade Ukraine with talk of NATO expansion." > — David Sacks, Republican National Convention, July 16, 2024 ## Context [[David Sacks]] — the PayPal-mafia venture capitalist who would become Trump's White House AI and crypto czar five months later — delivered this from the RNC main stage on the convention's opening night, hours after JD Vance was named running mate. The line blames Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on the U.S. and [[NATO]] rather than on Vladimir Putin, and the "yes provoked" emphasis was a deliberate restating of a claim Sacks knew would draw objection. The speech landed flat in the hall but went on to define his foreign-policy brand. ## Why this matters This is the tech right's isolationist-realist turn stated on the largest possible stage, by a man about to take a senior White House role. The "provocation" framing — that Western alliance-building, not Russian aggression, caused the war — tracks closely with Kremlin messaging, and Sacks built on it afterward (calling Ukraine "the Deep State's laundry machine"). As a receipt it documents the moment Silicon Valley money fused with a great-power-spheres foreign policy inside the Republican coalition, and it pairs with the [[Post-Democratic Tech-Right]] cluster Sacks belongs to. ## Verification - **Reporting:** [TechCrunch, July 16, 2024](https://techcrunch.com/2024/07/16/vc-david-sacks-delivers-a-fire-and-brimstone-speech-at-the-republican-national-convention/); [Crooks and Liars (with video)](https://crooksandliars.com/2024/07/david-sacks-bombs-rnc-when-he-blames-biden). - **Self-confirmation:** Sacks [reaffirmed the "provoked war" framing on X](https://x.com/DavidSacks/status/1813227606658973973) the same week. - **Status:** Verbatim, undisputed; delivered on live television. ## Related quotes - See also the [[Post-Democratic Tech-Right]] cluster, where Sacks is a recurring figure.