Will Donald Trump support California Forever?
California Forever CEO Jan Sramek seems optimistic about the project's chances under Donald Trump. Why?
It's been a while since I've written about California Forever, the "tech utopia" backed by Network State booster Marc Andreessen and a coterie of Silicon Valley zillionaires.
The California Forever project, which would create a new tech city in rural Solano County, was originally slated to be on the November 2024 ballot. But it was so dreadfully unpopular that its backers pulled it. Polls showed 70% opposition to the project, which had tried to rebrand as the East Solano Plan. Worse, the polls indicated that the tech billionaire project had miraculously found a way to unite Democrats and Republicans in 2024 ... against the weird city-building project.
But Jan Sramek, the project's CEO, is apparently optimistic about the project's chances once Donald Trump takes office.
From the Daily Republic newspaper:
"2025 is going to be a year of building across the U.S.," Sramek said, his optimism buoyed, in part, by Donald Trump's election victory.
This seems like a very strange thing to say in a county where Kamala Harris won 60% of the vote in 2024. Why would Trump's election have any positive impact on Solano County voters' attitude toward the project?
Sramek seems positively enthusiastic about 2025, a year most Democrats regard with dread. But Sramek is an expert at finding ways to manufacture optimism, even when it means telling obvious lies. In the Daily Republic interview, he continues to claim – absurdly – that his very unpopular tech utopia idea is actually quite popular. In fact, despite the project's utter failure in 2024, Sramek says the project actually made "great strides" this year.
"I think at a high level, we took an idea of building a city in East Solano that, in January, was very contentious and far-fetched ... and moved it to a place where most people in Solano County ... supported it," Sramek said.
This is demonstrably false. California Forever died in 2024. It was so dead that it had to be renamed. When that didn't fool anybody, the project was pulled from the ballot. (The project has now returned to using the California Forever name.)
Sramek's delusional claims reveal that the project's backers plan to triple down in 2025, with an eye on the 2026 ballot. And they apparently think Trump's return to the White House will boost the project.
It's easy to see why. Trump's campaign platform calls for the creation of new corporate charter cities (a.k.a. "freedom cities") across the country. From Trump's campaign website:
President Trump will work to open up the American Frontier, holding a contest to charter new cities where families and individuals can have a new shot of the American Dream.
As I wrote back in August, this plan fits neatly with the Network State movement:
In another bow to Peter Thiel and the weird Network State tech cult, Donald Trump's campaign platform has a plan to create new charter cities (so-called "Freedom Cities") on federal land. It's a clear indicator of his willingness to sell out the country to his far right Silicon Valley benefactors. In fact, Thiel and Marc Andreessen are funding an entire company – Pronomos Capital – dedicated to building such futuristic tech cities around the world.
Sramek's Trumpy enthusiasm raises some questions:
Is Solano County about to become a laboratory for Trump's plan to create corporate-controlled cities across the nation? Would Trump's support for the project increase or decrease support in Solano County? How will California Forever investor Marc Andreessen's work with Elon Musk to slash $2 trillion from the federal government affect Travis Air Force Base and its stance toward the project?
Seems like we'll find out in 2025.
Further reading:
Gil Duran
Gil Duran
Todd R. Hansen
