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Intel said late Wednesday that CEO Brian Krzanich is not endorsing a presidential candidate, despite the fact he had planned to host a fundraiser for Donald Trump on Thursday.
The plan for a Bay Area fundraiser was scuttled shortly after the New York Times asked Intel about the event on Tuesday.
"Brian Krzanich is not endorsing any presidential candidate," an Intel representative told Recode. "We are interested in engaging both campaigns in open dialogue on issues important to the technology industry,"
Sources say there has been significant outrage within the ranks at Intel, particularly given the company's significant investment in diversity issues.
While certainly there are plenty of tech companies with ties to both Republican and Democratic politics, the Intel situation is complicated both by the company's strong advocacy for women and people of color in tech and the particular political positions of Trump.
Despite Intel's statement, significant questions remain about the now-canceled fundraiser. We have posed them to Intel and have yet to get a response.
- Why was the fundraiser canceled, and whose decision was it to do so?
- Why was the leader of a company that has been a huge advocate for diversity in tech hosting a fundraiser for a candidate who has been so strongly anti-immigrant and has had, shall we say, a fair number of issues with regard to women?
- How does the company respond to the many Intel employees who feel this has severely undermined the company's long record of fighting to boost the representation of women and people of color in tech?
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
